AMERICAN Idol and The Voice went head-to-head this week in a ratings war as their schedules overlapped for the second time, and one saw significantly higher viewership.

The long-running singing competition shows both aired new episodes on Monday, March 2, and had a one-hour crossover on their rival networks, ABC and NBC.

Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Ryan Seacrest pose for a photo at American Idol Season 8 Judges Photo Call.
American Idol competed with The Voice in ratings after each aired in the same Monday night timeslotCredit: Getty
 

Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, and Michael Bublé pose together on "The Voice Live Finale Top 6 Performances" episode.
The Voice airs on NBC while American Idol is on their rival network, ABCCredit: Getty
American Idol, which airs on the former, from 8:00pm EST/PST to 10:00pm EST/PST, overlapped with NBC’s The Voice, which airs from 9:00pm EST/PST to 11:00pm EST/PST, after suffering major setbacks with its A-list coaches during filming, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed in October.

It’s only the second week the two programs have directly competed, since The Voice premiered its brand-new format for Season 29, Battle of the Champions, on February 23, while American Idol has been airing Season 24 since January.

American Idol won in both seniority and ratings, as the episode drew 5.19 million viewers, while The Voice drew 3.32 million, with Idol up 56 percent over its competitor, according to TV Insider.

Both series are in the early stages of their competitions, with American Idol wrapping up “Hollywood Week,” now called the “Music City Takeover,” filmed in Nashville instead of Los Angeles, at the demand of the newest judge, Carrie Underwood.

On March 9, the show will debut its Ohana round, a new stage where the Top 30 contestants perform in Hawaii, acting as a “focus group” for judges Carrie, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie,

Meanwhile, The Voice is in its second week of the blind auditions with returning champion coaches Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend.

They will resume the blind auditions in the next episode, continuing to build their teams of 10 standout singers for this specially themed season.

The Voice has plenty of time to catch up in the ratings, as it airs on the same night and time slot as American Idol for the duration of their seasons.

They didn’t always have this same-day battle, as American Idol previously aired on Sunday night and sometimes Mondays, while The Voice was on Mondays and Tuesday nights.

The latter’s schedule was adjusted this year due to NBA games dominating NBC’s Tuesday night lineup.

American Idol originally premiered on FOX in June 2002, funnily enough, with The Voice coach Kelly as the first season’s winner.

The series ran for 15 seasons until April 2016, before moving to its current home, ABC, for its 2018 revival.

Both shows have undergone dramatic changes as they’ve evolved, with rotating decks of judges and coaches.

However, they’ve each maintained the same hosts: Ryan Seacrest remains the host of American Idol, and Carson Daly is the host of The Voice.

The latest season of The Voice was initially seen by producers to be a slam-dunk for reuniting three of its fan-favorite coaches, rather than the typical four.

But the tone shifted after the unexpected death of Kelly’s ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, which cast a dark cloud over the set.

“[Execs] were expecting fireworks with season 29, but it’s coming out with a whimper, not a bang,” a source exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

American Idol also appeared to have its share of challenges, as judge Carrie has received considerable backlash in her sophomore season over her addition to the panel.

The Season 4 American Idol champion has also taken issue with the producers’ edits of her, given she previously threatened to quit the show after repeated online hate took its toll.

“She’s felt more frustrated and annoyed by some of the producers’ decisions this season,” an insider exclusively told The U.S. Sun earlier this week.

“Like them highlighting the times she got booed and making a mockery of it.

“She knows they’re doing it for the ratings, but she felt it was disrespectful for them to lean into that so much.”

American Idol judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and host Ryan Seacrest standing behind a "700 Episodes" cake.
American Idol won in ratings as scoring 56 percent over its competitorCredit: Getty
 

The Voice - Season 29
The Voice is currently airing its first Battle of the Champions-themed season with Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend as the coaches, and Carson Daly as the hostCredit: Getty
 

Carrie Underwood smiling on the set of American Idol.
A source exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that American Idol host Carrie Underwood has felt ‘frustrated’ with producers’ edits of her on the show