It seems like everywhere you turn there is a new music competition that has started. American Idol is still going strong in Season 11, and America’s Got Talent also continues to boast strong singers each year. We also have (and had) shows like The Sing Off, Nashville Star, Can You Duet?, the famous Star Search, and countless others over the years.

The big change happens this year when NBC premieres The Voice this spring, CMT launches CMT’s Next Superstar, and Simon Cowell brings The X-Factor to FOX this fall. Within one year we would have AGT, AI, The Voice, Next Superstar, and The X-Factor. Never before have their been 5 singing competitions in the same year across “bigger” networks.

That begs the question: How bad is the TV industry doing where we need this many competitions? Or, in contrast, how dumb is America for keeping on watching these programs?

While each show brings a “unique spin”, they are pretty much the same show. Many argue as well that if a singer is good enough, they could get a record deal on their own. But then you get into the people who claim, “Where would Carrie Underwood be or Jennifer Hudson?” More likely than not, they would’ve received record deals on their own.

Miranda Lambert placed third on USA’s Nashville Star, but still received a record deal after the show and has sold more albums than any winner as well. There goes to show that although the show may have helped, the voice led the way to the millions of albums sold.

I’m pretty sure that The X-Factor will be a hit because of Cowell. The big question is how will The Voice do. While the celebrity judges are well known, and the concept is fresh, NBC hasn’t launched a “huge” hit yet. While The Sing Off draws big numbers, it is a limited series and still hasn’t reached the level of Idol or even close to the same network’s America’s Got Talent.

I want to know your opinion. Would you rather have these singing shows, or would you rather bring back shows like Life on NBC, or even shows like Terriers on FX that are more expensive to produce and go head to head the same nights as other competitions.