Author: Shirley Halperin

A version of this story first appeared in the June 28 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The Voice wrapped its fourth season on June 18 with a star-studded finale that included appearances by Cher (her first TV performance in a decade), Bruno Mars, OneRepublic, Nelly and Hunter Hayes, among others. Compared to American Idol’s season 12 closer on May 16, which featured a Frankie Valli group number and Aretha Franklin singing via satellite, the NBC show felt fresher. How did the two singing competitions stack up in other key areas? THR investigates …

AVERAGE PERFORMER AGE

Voice: 38
Idol: 41

Mars and Hayes helped bring down the average performer age to 38, more in line with the show’s younger viewer demo.

Winner: Voice

GRAMMYS

Voice: 11
Idol: 28

With 18 for Franklin and five for Carey, Idol reigns supreme — though ratings for the Fox series were down 44 percent from 2012.

Winner: Idol

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GROUP NUMBER

Voice: “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Idol: “Glad You Came” by The Wanted

The Voice goes with the hipper choice, complete with “Hey” grunts.  

Winner: Voice

BIG GET

Voice: Cher
Idol: Aretha Franklin

In the battle of the divas, Cher comes out on top since the Queen of Soul couldn’t make it to Idol‘s live show and sang via satellite.

Winner: Voice

DOUBLE DUTY

Voice: Pitbull with Christina Aguilera
Idol: Pitbull with Jennifer Lopez

The Latino rapper performed with alumni of both shows.

Winner: Draw

STORY: TV Ratings: ‘The Voice’ Drops From Recent Performance Finales

NEWCOMER

Voice: Hunter Hayes
Idol: Emeli Sande

One’s a Grammy-nominated country artist, the other a Scottish singer-songwriter with loads of promise.  

Winner: Draw

COUNTRY ACT

Voice: Florida Georgia Line
Idol: The Band Perry

The Voice nabs the band that currently holds the No. 5 song in the country; Idol goes with a slightly more seasoned act whose latest album is already gold. 

Winner: Draw 

FINAL VERDICT: NBC’s saving grace squeaks out a victory over the 12-year-old Fox show — much like the ratings for the series’ most recent seasons.

Twitter: @Idol_Worship

Peden + Munk

David Hill

It looks as if the dust is starting to settle over at Fox. Following the high-profile departure of alternative programming head Mike Darnell on May 24, a highly placed source tells The Hollywood Reporter that the network has appointed one of its own to step in and oversee American Idol and X Factor.

David Hill, currently senior executive vp at News Corp. and a longtime fixture at the broadcasting giant where he ran Fox Sports Media Group, shepherded the launch of Fox Sports Japan and served in an advisory role across the company, will take on the more traditional network-producer relationship on the network’s two singing competition shows. Hill will serve as the network’s point person for the producers, while at the same time, the search will continue for someone to take Darnell’s place in running reality programming overall.

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Chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group Peter Rice and Fox Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly chose Hill because of his experience with live events. Says a source: “They see a strong transition in David. These shows are well-oiled machines in some cases. He’ll serve as the main person from the network who’ll focus on them while a new as-yet-undetermined reality head will focus on development while getting up to speed on everything already in production and the pipeline.”

To “walk in the door” and do both as Darnell had, says the insider, “would’ve been crazy.”

Hill makes for an interesting choice in that he’s known as an experienced dealmaker and does not suffer fools. This is the type of executive who has sat across the table from the NFL, MLB and some of the best negotiators in the business. He has been called “outspoken,” a “swashbuckler,” a “tough guy,” a “mad genius,” “the Roger Ailes of sports” and more in a career that has taken him from his native Australia to the U.K. and to America.

Murdoch moved Hill to the U.S. in 1993 after he bought rights to the country’s most popular sport, NFL football, shocking CBS — which had held rights for years — along with the rest of broadcasting and American sports fans.

Hill felt the way sports had been covered was old-fashioned and limited. His idea was that the viewer should see more than the action on the field from one or two angles. He wanted to bring the entire experience — in front of and behind the scenes — to the viewer, with more cameras than anyone ever aimed at a game before. He created the catcher cam, the gopher cam, the diamond cam and other unique viewpoints.

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Those skills could prove handy when it comes to season 13 of Idol. In season 12, which saw a double-digit drop in ratings, not only did the show receive similar criticism — for being out of touch with contemporary music and relying on a stale formula — the show and its production partners FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment also shelled out more than $30 million in judges’ salaries to lock in the likes of Mariah Carey (estimated to have been paid $18 million) and Nicki Minaj ($10 million-plus).

Although the show wrapped less than a month ago, plenty of changes are already afoot, including the departure of longtime executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick. Hill’s arrival, however, is aimed at providing a fresh approach and some much-needed stability.

Fox would not comment.

Marisa Guthrie and Alex Ben Block contributed to this report.

Twitter: @TheLiveFeed

American Idol can now officially claim its own first couple. On Saturday, June 1, season five finalist Ace Young married longtime girlfriend and season three runner-up Diana DeGarmo.

The afternoon ceremony at Los Angeles’ Luxe Sunset Boulevard hotel was officiated by Hollywood Reporter contributor Fred Bronson who read the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Grow old with Me” from a sunflower-bedecked altar. “It was solemn in places, funny in others,” said Bronson the day after. “Lots of tears; lots of laughs. It was an uplifting, celebratory vibe throughout.”

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Some 230 guests were in attendance including fellow Idol alums Elliott Yamin, Kevin Covais and Michael Johns. Associate musical director Michael Orland was also present along with Fox executive Wenda Fong and DeGarmo’s The Young and the Restless costars Christian LeBlanc and Tracey Bregman.

DeGarmo, 25, wore a Sareh Nouri gown. Her brother David, who had been deployed to Afghanistan, walked the bride down the aisle. Filet mignon, salmon and pumpkin ravioli were on the menu at the reception as well as three wedding cakes — one shaped like a guitar and baked by Duff Goldman of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes.

The couple wrote their own vows  and chose Led Zeppelin’s “All My Love” as their recessional music. Following the first dance, a song they recorded called “Here and Now,” Young and his mother Kay took the dance floor for the Beatles’ “In My Life.”

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Adds Bronson: “Many guests said it was the best wedding they had ever been to.”

The couple started dating while co-starring in the Broadway revival of Hair in 2010. “We were inseparable,” Young, 32, told THR of their time in New York. “We had breakfast, lunch and dinner together every day. I instantly knew I had a best friend.”

After recruiting Ryan Seacrest as a co-conspirator, Young proposed to DeGarmo onstage during the American Idol season 11 finale. “I want to make this last forever,” he told his bride-to-be, “and I will do everything in my power to have the most imaginable amazing life together.”

The two reside in Los Angeles.

Twitter: @Idol_Worship