American Idol
Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
Last week, the selection of the final competitors had the judges – Jennifer Lopez, at least – fighting back tears. Tonight, the 13 finalists begin live competition in the elimination rounds – and they couldn’t have come sooner for this long-dominant reality competition show, which suddenly is in a fierce Battle Round, for viewers and media attention, with NBC’s The Voice. Tonight and tomorrow, the boys and girls take on, respectively, the music of Stevie Wonder and the playlist of the late Whitney Houston, with Mary J. Blige as the week’s guest mentor. Houston’s catalog should be emotional, and both of them, vocally, are extremely challenging. So this year’s finals, at least, begin on a demanding note – which might lead to many bad ones.