#Kara loves the pecs

[satoshy12]

Supergirl and the Phantom Pecs

It all started with a blind date for Kara, where she met Danny. He was a pretty good-looking man. And she liked to spend time with him, as he was funny, and she liked to talk to him. Well, Kara really likes her swimmer boyfriend. His pecs are massive! She gets why people always look at her as a counterpart, Powergirl, or something similar. Danny himself liked to talk to Kara; he hadn't had that much fun since he worked with Walker, which was an easy deal. All his villains are in his prison, with a few extras from the modern world. Danny had a Jack growth spurt, so he packed muscle and is much taller. His suit was even ripped by it, and he couldn't really use a new one. The way it ripped revealed his abdomen and chest. (google Shuumatsu Poseidon)

Wearing a new one It didn't work; he tried it. His ghost form doesn't take the clothes with him when he transforms. And after a while, Danny was too embarrassed to go ghostly anymore, so he rather walked around just like Fenton. And the one time he transformed was to save Kara from an attack by a villain while on a date. Danny:" Are you okay, Kara?" Kara:" Yeah, yeah. Why did you never tell me you could transform?" Danny sees where his girlfriend is looking:" My eyes are up here. And this is the reason." Kara still has her face in his chest:" I know, but still, I like it." Kara really likes her boyfriend's hero costume.

[dokifluffs]

Booping His Nose | Aone, Ushijima

Pairings: Aone X Reader (gender neutral), Ushijima X Reader (female)

Genre: soft 🥺 sweet fluff

Author’s Nose: im absolutely and utterly soft for Aone and his turt 🥺 

Aran, Kenma, Atsumu // Nishinoya, Sachiro, Kuroo // Sakusa, Iwaizumi // Suna, Kageyama, Matsukawa // Tendo, Hinata, Bokuto // Yamaguchi, Osamu

gif from @rivaillerose​

Aone: 

A cool, early summer breeze blew by, making the plastic bags in your guys’ hands rustle as the two of you walked side by side, on the way toward his house

“‘Nobu, what are you gonna show me?” You asked for the nth time, though you knew you weren’t going to get an answer

“We went grocery shopping for these veggies…” you mumbled to yourself, taking a peek to refresh your memory

He held the bag with the heavier snacks that you guys would eat and share and you help the lighter bag of veggies, specifically spinach, carrots, and even a few kiwis

Was he going to make you something to eat?

He was only silent as he looked down to you, giving you a soft, silent smile as you guys turned onto the block, approaching his home

The only plans you were sure of was that you two were going to watch a movie or two tonight while and snack a bit, eat pizza

But oh well

You opened your mind, just going with the flow, not worrying much about anything as long as you spent some time with Aone

Stepping inside, you were greeted warmly by his parents before they left very shortly to head out to relative’s house

This time, he took care of the veggies and produce bag while you helped yourself to some snacks, sorting the others that you weren’t too interested in, away

You snacked, standing beside him as he washed the fruits, occasionally feeding him before he had to focus, cutting the fruits diligently but also into very small, small cube shapes

He plated them neatly, alongside the greens and that was when he took your hand

“I want you to meet someone very special.” He spoke matter of factly before he brought you to the sun room, setting the plate of veggies and fruits down before disappearing once again

But when he returned, it was like there was a sparkle in his eye, his hands holding something, though you couldn’t really see what

“Who is it?” You asked as he knelt down right beside you

“This is berry, my tortoise.” He opened his hands, revealing a small tortoise walking from his cupped hands, right toward the plate of deliciousness as fast as she could

“Oh my gosh, she’s so precious, Nobu,” you gasped as you laid lower, closer to the floor, as close as you could without startling her or anything

Aone smiled happily, seeing his two favorite beings together, finally meeting

He went through the story of how he adopted her, how he bonded with her, learned to take care of her

And now that you had gotten the chance to meet her, the three of you could grow and see her grow

Though she would be living far much longer than the two of you

You two knelt low in the sun room, watching her bite the small-cut fruit, taking mighty but tiny chops into the spinach leaves

She was just so cute but made a perfect acquaintance for him

You couldn’t even think about a movie as the two of you were much more entertained just by watching Berry eat her meal

Looking beside you to Aone, he watched her like anyone would want to be looked at by their loved on - almost like he was looking at her just like he was looking at you

With his chin resting in his hands while the two of you laid on your bellies, elbows propping yourselves up, you leaned over and pressed your finger to his nose

“Boop.”

And you knew for a long time that he never really was one to show emotions, but you had never seen his cheeks turn pink so fast while Berry walked in between the two of you

gif from @rivaillerose​

Ushijima: 

“Mm, this team was good,” Wakatoshi spoke stoically as ever as you leaned back into him, his arm draped over the back of the couch

Dinner had already been eaten and the night was very young

Though you did feel a little lethargic from how you were positioned

His abdomen providing you the perfect pillow, but his lap was even better as you laid yourself across from him

“What team?” You asked, turning to glance at the tv, suddenly seeing a closeup of hinata and kageyama

“Argentina,” he spoke stoically and that was when you remembered the game the two of you were watching

It was the pre-olympic qualifiers with the Japan team and the Argentina team, of course with Oikawa Tooru as their setter, a setter Wakatoshi highly approved of

You did your best to stifle a yawn, only for it to grow into an even bigger yawn

“Tired?” He looked down to you, resting his hand on your baby bump

“Mmhm,” you blinked slowly, bringing your hand to his, feeling his warmth

“Do you want to go upstairs? I can carry you.”

“Oh, no, no Toshi. I’m far too heavy for that but I just wanna stay here with you.” You adjusted, turning to your other side that faced the back of the couch, facing in to his stomach

It was so perfect

The couch supported your heavy belly, letting your back rest for the first time in awhile

You were right there besides your husband, able to smell his fresh body wash his hand now resting on your arm, stroking it as he continued to look down at you

“It would be no problem. I can carry you at any weight, so don’t worry,” his lips curled up a little, the tickling feeling of his thumb now on your cheek

“I wanna stay here with you,” you looked up to him, wrapping your fingers around the bottom edge of his shirt

“Alright, then.” He continued watching his game, rewatching the footage to prepare for the actual olympic games

When you first met him, Wakatoshi was even quieter, not really talking much unless asked to, and.. not slow per se, but he would have to ask about jokes as well as online trends

He was very focused on himself, doing things he knew would be the best for him and here he was

He was a lot more open with you, mostly because you two had been married and you were pregnant with your guys’ first kid

Things were for sure changing, life was changing and

You got to spend it with Wakatoshi

You further nuzzled your face into his abdomen, liking how warm it was, despite his strange it would sort of look to others if they just walked in and saw you rubbing your face into your husband’s stomach but you couldn’t help it but touch and feel him before he would be gone again and you would be alone and needy for him

He smelled so good, he was so warm

You could’ve, you wanted to fall asleep right then and there in his lap but there was something else that just didn’t want you to inside

Looking up to him, your eyes practically half open, he was so focused on the game, he had that face on, which was basically his everyday face, that you couldn’t tell what he was really thinking

But you just knew it was about the game

Reaching up, your rest your hand on his pec and shoulder, getting his attention

“Hm? Do you want to go upstairs?”

Giving him no answer, you simply reached over and pressed your finger to his nose, booping it

A look of confusion spread on his face for a moment before he did the same, slowly reaching over and awkwardly booping your nose too

You hummed, content for some reason that he had done it

“I’ll stay here with you,” you spoke softly, snaking your hand under the hem of his shirt, resting it on his lower back, a feeling he was very much used to at this point

Every touch from you, he was used to

“Alright then. Let me know when you would like to go upstairs and I will carry you, Y/N.” He ever so carefully pulled you closer, leaning to the side to pull the folded, light blanket to throw it over, draping it over your body

“M’kay,” you hummed, before finally reaching for his hand that rest on your arm, bringing it to your face so you could hold his hand, feeling him as you let yourself doze off completely

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

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[supervalor]

Thanks for writing my karaoke prompt it was really awesome (Melissa singing Chasing Pavements just bring tears to my eyes everytime, i love Marley!), and for another prompt, what about Kara and red kryptonite? Things get heated between her and Mon-El when she's out of her mind :-D (Again, sorry for my bad english, brazilian here)

Here ya go!

Title: The Red-K Experience

Pairing: Karamel

The moment that Mon-El saw Kara walked into the bar he knewthat something was wrong. Her hair was left down, normal for when she wasSupergirl but as Kara she usually wore her hair up or at least out of her face.Her eyes, still hidden behind her glasses, were outlined with dark, smokyeyeshadow and her lips painted a dangerous red colour. Instead of her usualcute cardigan and dress, she was wearing tight leather pants and asheer black blouse that was see through, right down to her black bra.

“Kara?!” Mon-El stared at his friend as she headed right tothe bar that he was serving behind.

She gave him a sort of smirk that Mon-El had never seenappear on her face before in all the time that he had known her. “Hey”, she purredas she jumped onto a bar stool and pressed herself up against the bar. “What’sa girl got to do to get a drink around here?”

He frowned at Kara, wondering why she was acting so strangely.Maybe Alex would know. As soon as he could, he would ring her and ask her whatwas going on because Kara seemed very out of character. Maybe she was possessed.That wouldn’t be totally surprising but he wanted to get her back to right assoon as possible. “Err…sure, Kara”. He poured her the usual drink she ordered –a cola – and passed it to her. To his surprise, she looked at it and wrinkledher nose.

“Don’t you have anything…stronger?”

“Stronger?”

“You know…like what you we drank that one time and I feltfloaty afterwards”.

Mon-El looked at her with a frown. “Are you sure you wantthat, Kara? You told me that you never wanted to drink ever again after thelast time”.

“I wasn’t serious”, she scoffed and rolled her eyes at him.Reluctantly, he poured her an ale and gave it to her. He watched with concernas she drowned it in one. “Hmm…refreshing”, she smiled, licking her upper lipwhich automatically caught his attention. He swallowed and judging by the smugway she was grinning at him he got the feeling that she was deliberately tryingto drive him crazy.

He leant towards her, worry in his grey eyes. “Kara, are youfeeling…alright?”

“I feel better than ever, you don’t need to worry about me…Mon-El”,Kara answered, her voice going low and husky and he watched in shock as sheunbuttoned two of her top buttons, revealing a flash of cleavage in hisdirection. His pants tightened and he forced himself to focus. Something veryodd was happening. He needed to help Kara, not be a pervert, no matter how sexyshe might be right now…or at any time for that matter.

“Excuse me, Kara”, Mon-El faked a smile at her beforedisappearing into the backroom, leaving someone else to tend to the bar as hegrabbed his cell phone from his coat jacket and ringing Alex’s number.

Thankfully she answered in the first few rings. “Mon-El, what’sup?”

“Something is wrong with Kara”.

“What do you mean?” Alex questioned, sounding more alert thanbefore at the suggestion of something happening to her sister.

“She’s being very…bold and she’s dressed weirdly. She’s dressed completely in black and very tight pants and I think she might be trying to seduce me…”

“Oh no. Not good”, the older Danvers groaned and Mon-El felthis skin rise with chills.

“What do you mean by that?”

“If Kara’s acting very out of character and doing things shemight not normally do then I think there’s a possibility that she’s beenpoisoned”.

“What?! What sort of poison would do this to her?”

“It’s called red kryptonite”, Alex explained. “It’s likekryptonite in that it effects Kryptonians but instead of killing her it affectsher mentally and releases her inhibitions that she normally has tight controlover. So whereas she’s normally polite, kind, loving and kind of shy with guys,this stuff makes her the complete opposite and also makes her very dangerous.Mon-El, I’m going to need you to stay with her until I can get to her with acure alright?”

“Yeah…yeah, I’m on it, Alex”.

He turned around after hanging up on Alex and yelped when hesaw Kara standing right behind him in the back room. She smiled at him mischievouslyand proceeded to begin unbuttoning the rest of her shirt.

“You disappeared on me”, she pouted at him mockingly. “Thatwasn’t very nice of you, Mon-El, especially when I came all this way just foryou”.

She’sdangerous. I’m going to need you to stay with her until I can get to her with acure.

Alex’s words repeated themselves in his head and he realisedthat he was going to have to distract Kara and keep her with him so she didn’trun off and do anything really regrettable.  Just how he was going to do this, he had avague idea but he could only hope that Kara would forgive him when she was inthe right state of mind again.

“I’m sorry, Kara. Can I make it up to you?” he asked her,trying not to gulp as she sauntered towards him, in just her leather pants,shoes and black lacy bra.

“As it just so happens, you can”, she flickered her hoodedblue eyes up at him as she pressed her hands against his chest. “You can showme how guys pleasured their women back on Daxam”. To his discomfort, her handwent down from his chest and slid to his groin. “And how you pleasured Miss Tessmacherin that closet that I found you together in”.

“Kara…”

“Don’t you want me?” Kara unzipped her leather trousers andstepped out of them. Now she was only in her bra, panties and knee lengthboots.

Mon-El let out a groan. She must know how much she was torturinghim in that moment but there was no way that he would give her what she thought shewanted right now. As much as he wanted to, he was going to hold on to the smallamount of honour that he’d brought with him from Daxam. Even back then he neverwould have taken advantage of a woman that was not in her right mind or inebriated.

“I think”, Kara looked at him with false disapproval that hadhim stepping back a little nervously. “That you are wearing too many clothes”.

With her super speed and strength, she had her shirt rippedoff his chest in a matter of seconds. “That’s a little better”, she remarkedlowly before pressing her mouth against his chest and planting kisses on hisskin from his pecs down to just above his jeans before pulling back and givinghim a saucy smile when she noticed that his eyes had rolled back into his head.

“Kara…” he began. When it looked as though she was about toreach for his pants, Mon-El quickly caught hold of her face and leant down,smacking his lips against hers. Hopefully Alex would show up before it got toofar. He was surprised with the ferocity that she reciprocated the kiss with andfelt her arms tighten around his waist as she pulled him even closer.

Suddenly the door to the backroom opened and Mon-El jumped insurprise. Kara spun around but before she could act, Alex had shot her with adart full of some sort of liquid. Kara’s eyes rolled upwards and just as shebegan to fall, Mon-El quickly grabbed her and scooped her up into his arms. “Isshe cured now?”

“She should be”, Alex told him bemused by the scene that shehad walked in. “Thanks for keeping my sister here…and out of trouble”.

“It was no problem”, Mon-El assured her and she quirked aneyebrow at him.

“I bet it wasn’t”.

[imagine-matsu-sin-blog]

So I just saw the trash bag commercial with John Cena in it (the one where is pecks pop) and because I'm a total weirdo wit nothing better to do I was wondering how would the Matsu's react to their male s/o being able to pop their pecks? I know it's a reallly bizarre request so it's fine if you don't wanna do this one 😂 Love your blog btw

Thanks for the love!! We love you too 💕Also Mod Kara and I had a debate on whether we should actually answer this or not and I basically said, “look we have a responsibility to our followers” and you know what i’m going to answer this seriously so your welcome

Osomatsu: He would laugh and laugh and laugh to be quite honest he would think that is the funniest shit he has ever seen solely because it is so out of the blue.

Karamatsu: He is heavily impressed and is now learning how to do it. He is so in love.

Choromatsu: He would be kind of disgusted but lowkey heart eyes. Choromatsu certainly does not wear the pants in any relationship, bless his heart.

Ichimatsu: Just straight up confusion. Why is this happening. He is probably dating his s/o because he knows he could destroy him.

Jyushimatsu: “I can do that too s/o!!” GIANT FUCKING PECS PUMPING

Todomatsu: I bet they have a couples workout instagram so he would just take video to post. Other things on this page include video of him sitting on his s/o’s back sipping tea while he does pushups.

-Mod Ichi

[njawaidofficial]

Why Katy Perry Can’t Save “American Idol”

https://styleveryday.com/2018/03/13/why-katy-perry-cant-save-american-idol/

Why Katy Perry Can’t Save “American Idol”

American Idol judges’ giant head display takes over the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, March 12, 2018, in Hollywood.

Brandon Williams / Getty Images

Since the announcement early last year that American Idol was coming back on ABC, after wrapping up its supposedly final season on Fox in 2016, most of the excitement about its return centered on the new panel of judges. The trio that ABC ultimately selected is a motley assortment, plucked from across the musical celebrity spectrum: contemporary pop queen Katy Perry, throwback R&B legend Lionel Richie, and the “King of Bro-Country,” Luke Bryan. The controversy over Perry’s $25 million salary probably made the most news, and since the show’s debut, Perry’s antics have garnered most of the attention. But the overall focus on these celebrity judges speaks to a larger problem for Idol that helps explain why the onetime ratings giant lost steam and seems unlikely to regain its former glory.

It’s hard to remember now how Idol grew into a groundbreaking ratings juggernaut, outperforming the Oscars, peaking at 36 million viewers in 2006, and inaugurating a new wave of old-fashioned talent competitions, from America’s Got Talent to The X Factor. It did so by making stars, not hiring them. The original judges — producer Simon Cowell, ’80s pop star Paula Abdul, former A&R executive and bassist Randy Jackson — became iconic as judges, not for bringing their own pop star brands onto the show. But once Abdul, and later Cowell, left the franchise, it was reduced to relying on outside celebrities to attempt to bring audiences in — losing ratings, its own star-making power, and some of its identity as a forum for pop democracy in action. The show’s producers started trying to generate ratings by moving the focus from the contestants to the judges, in a way that distracted from the show’s musical focus and inspirational aura, as the legendary 2013 blowout between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj proved.

The show’s uplifting brand became tarnished through these “reality” tactics, which began to seem increasingly desperate as the show’s ratings fell — ending its run on Fox with 9.3 million viewers, a quarter of the audience it drew at its peak — and the later winners failed to graduate to successful (or even visible) careers in the music industry. In contrast, NBC’s The Voice, the kind of competitor that Idol’s success opened the door for, found a more organic way to center its celebrity judges. They were reframed as down-to-earth “coaches” who could relate to the singers onstage, in a role that allowed them to keep their own brands intact (and be replaced, as celebrity schedules inevitably demand, without upsetting the fundamental dynamic of the show).

The fact that Kelly Clarkson, arguably the face of Idol, chose to join The Voice this season as a coach — as well as Idol’s ratings loss to The Voice in its premiere — underlines that the fresher competitor now better represents the earnest authenticity that Idol is struggling to recapture. Everything about the reincarnated Idol, besides the judging panel, is nearly unchanged from its first life — down to the set and Ryan Seacrest’s blinding white smile. And relying on the star power of Katy Perry or her fellow judges to bring in viewers is at best a temporary patch over the changing realities of television and music that made Idol’s promise of blockbuster pop stardom impossible to keep.

Winner Kelly Clarkson embraces fellow contestants during the American Idol Season 1 finale on Sept. 4, 2002.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Even if you didn’t watch the first season of American Idol in 2002, you might have seen Kelly Clarkson’s coronation from the first finale. It is, by design, one of the most compelling moments of reality television history. YouTube is full of bootleg videos of the moment; one has over 5 million views. Clarkson had just been selected — through 15.5 million phone calls, pre-texting — as the first American Idol. Like a pop Miss America in prom-night curls, she immediately went on to sing the perfectly crafted pop power ballad “A Moment Like This” — cowritten by one of the Swedish pop wizards who helped launch Britney Spears to stardom — which was supposed to become everybody’s prom and wedding anthem. As the song builds, Clarkson makes it her own with her big, belting voice, which begins to crack as she sings “I can’t believe it’s happening to me.” She apologizes for her tears, the camera often turns to her own crying mother, and it all culminates with the other contestants coming in for a group hug and helping her finish the song as her voice breaks.

Clarkson cry-singing “A Moment Like This.”

Fox

That one moment represented what made early American Idol great: a brilliant mixture of pop perfection, unembarrassed sentimentality, and reality television surprise. With its promise of a major label recording contract at the end, it was less amateurish than Star Search, yet it still flourished on the underdog appeal of its contestants. After Clarkson’s win, the entertainment press raised questions about how “amateur” she really was, but the focus and excitement was entirely on her, and such questioning was still entirely in line with what the brand was selling.

Clarkson wasn’t the only previously unknown quantity whose stardom was minted during that first season. Throughout the process of auditions, “Hollywood week,” public voting, eliminations, and results shows, the public also came to know and love (or love to hate) the judges. Cowell, with his be-sweatered pecs and performance of snooty Englishness, seemed almost like a parody of American ideas about critics as effete Europeans. Paula Abdul had disappeared from the music scene, clearly done with her pop moment, and had never really had a defined public personality beyond her brilliant dancing and music videos, so she was a revelation. Witnessing her loopy attempts to frame feedback in positive terms was almost like watching Hallmark spoken word poetry. Randy Jackson was the seemingly objective, level-headed judge, giving practical feedback on singing — often describing performances as “pitchy” — and coining an iconic catchphrase/meme (“gonna be a no from me, dawg”).

The original trio established the perfect template of commentating chemistry: the good cop, the bad cop, and the neutral tiebreaker.

After the auditions phase of each Idol season, the judges acted more like sports commentators than active participants in shaping the contestants’ personas — they were central to the show, but not the center of it. And in retrospect, that original trio established the perfect template of commentating chemistry: the good cop, the bad cop, and the neutral tiebreaker. There was a delightful quality to all this perfect, cheery fakeness, which could be enjoyed both sincerely and as camp. The show, initially itself an underdog, turned unknowns into stars at every level and remained on brand, and growing, for a decade.

The show’s growth was aligned with its mission of launching pop stars, and the drama it generated was primarily about the contestants — both the clashes of different musical styles and their fates on the charts after the show. The second season had the show’s highest-rated finale ever, followed by eager speculation over whether runner-up Clay Aiken would end up outselling winner Ruben Studdard. Season 3’s Jennifer Hudson went on to win an Academy Award and star on Broadway, and Carrie Underwood emerged as the show’s country star in Season 4, which pitted her folksy appeal against Bo Bice’s rocker style.

Idol ratings peaked in Season 5, in 2006, as sexy-sad rock singer Chris Daughtry was upset by Taylor Hicks’s drunk-uncle-at-karaoke act (much to Cowell’s annoyance), though Daughtry ended up massively outselling him. From there, the show’s winners began to blur into a forgettable hegemony of white guys with guitars, punctuated by the spectacle of Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert as the show’s first not-yet-openly gay pop star in 2009 — arguably the last season the show made news for the right reasons.

Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson on the set of American Idol, broadcast live July 16, 2002.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Paula Abdul uttered one of the great truths of our time when she declared, on her masterpiece Bravo reality show Hey Paula, that people don’t treat her like the gift that she is. On Idol, she was the gift that kept on giving: a tireless engine of train wreck television and sweet platitudes. But when her salary demands weren’t met for the ninth season — she reportedly wanted a raise from $4 million to $12 million — she tweeted her goodbye. “I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day one become an international phenomenon.”

It’s impossible to pinpoint one cause for Idol’s struggles in its later years, as it failed to produce pop stars and ratings declined, but songwriter Kara DioGuardi’s addition as a fourth judge during Abdul’s final season (she was most memorable for her singing battle with “Bikini Girl”) certainly upset the existing balance and chemistry of the judging panel. The show’s falling ratings fell further once Abdul left, and even more tellingly, that was the first season that none of the top four finalists achieved noteworthy singles or sales success.

Ellen DeGeneres joined the panel for Season 9, in what she later called the biggest mistake of her career. Like Abdul, she didn’t want to be mean, but as a professional comedian she gave harsh critiques wrapped in humor (“the line between sexy and scary is a thin line”) without any of Abdul’s loopy charm. (Though she did jump on Cowell’s lap to dispel persistent rumors of a feud.) Ellen’s stint on the show made clear that Abdul was impossible to duplicate, and probably worth every penny. But more importantly, it highlighted the difficulties of bringing established celebrities onto the show in an organic way.

Some critics have argued that Cowell’s departure after Season 9, which both diluted the Idol brand and contributed to TV’s singing-competition overload by bringing The X Factor to the US, put the nail in the coffin of the show’s ratings. But X Factor and post-Cowell Idol both had the exact same problem: They were trying to bring in ratings and recapture the magic of watching no-name artists become big stars, while leaning on static formats and the attraction of famous judges who would inevitably distract viewers from actually paying attention to the contestants.

Big pop stars like Jennifer Lopez have no incentive to pollute their existing brands by becoming a mean Simon or a compellingly zany Paula.

Idol tried to solve the problem by hiring Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler for the 2011 season, but neither were distinctive or compelling judging personalities, and even their big names weren’t enough to prevent a major 13% ratings drop. They played their already existing pop personas and seemed more interested in boosting their own careers than adding to the show. As CNN noted, it was unclear if Tyler was promoting Idol or himself. Lopez debuted new videos on the show, performed her own songs, and used the job to launch a further TV career. But big pop stars like Lopez have no incentive to pollute their existing brands by becoming a mean Simon or a compellingly zany Paula. Idol offered these stars in need of a career boost a huge platform, but the celebrity judges got more than they gave, and Idol only slid further into irrelevancy.

While Idol and The X Factor (which recruited Britney Spears, with disappointing results) were struggling with their judging problem, The Voice appeared in 2011, and seemed to find the best role for itself in the new pop landscape by giving the judges, and their interactions with contestants, as much screentime as possible. Featuring Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton in its first season, The Voice purposely framed the judges as coaches and co-conspirators, and made their relationships with the contestants the point of the show: They work together on teams. Because they didn’t have the specter of any original, archetypal judges to compete with, The Voice’s pop star coaches basically played themselves, and the format still worked.

The show also benefited from viewers coming to accept that TV competitions are — for numerous reasons having to do with the way the music industry has shifted — no longer a viable way to instantly mint stars. The Voice’s very name doesn’t promise pop stardom, but rather the chance to craft a style based on “pure” vocal talent, as the famous chair-swiveling shtick of the show’s blind auditions suggests. The turn to live television for the public eliminations on Voice does send some of their songs rushing to the top of iTunes, and this more modest success somehow seems like an acknowledgment of the way that pop stardom — in the age of Spotify playlists and SoundCloud indie rap — can no longer be a big destination predetermined from the top down, but an ongoing process of tiny wins. The complaint against The Voice has always been that it has never launched a star, but arguably, after Adam Lambert, neither did American Idol.

The Voice Season 8 coaches, from left: Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.

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