The "American Idol" concert tour has the feel of a get-rich-quick cash- in, with its repurposed film clips and the 10 finalists' repeat performances from the broadcasts of TV's summer sensation.

Sure, the touring band is first-rate and there is a bit more theatrical staging, with fireworks and flashpots and sets that rise up in the center of the stage. However, fans came to see their adopted music idols, and, what they saw onstage at Nassau Coliseum were acts they have already seen.

Concerts generally succeed on the strength of their surprises, and at the "American Idol" tour, they were few and far between. The biggest surprise - a shock, really, to most fans of winner Kelly Clarkson - was a negative one: She didn't sing her No. 1 hit, "A Moment Like This."

Christina Christian was surprisingly strong, giving a reggae feel and some Shakira-esque hip-shake to "Ain't No Sunshine." Tamyra Gray also pulled out all the stops for her version of "I'm Every Woman." Runner-up Justin Guarini offered some surprises of his own, practically stealing the show from Clarkson - not with his voice, but with his likable rapport with the audience.

Clarkson delivered well on her Aretha Franklin one-two punch of "Respect" and "Natural Woman," as well as her own "Before Your Love." However, due to the show's frantic pacing and constant switching of singers, she never gets to build any momentum.

The show's production numbers were also problematic. The 10 finalists are singers, not dancers - a fact that becomes painfully obvious when the guys try to recreate 'N Sync's "Pop" or the whole gang does a medley of disco songs. When all 10 are onstage, especially when they sing in unison, the numbers lose all sense of polish, turning whatever they're singing into some sort of new-millennium update of the talent show episode of "The Brady Bunch." The way their 10 voices throttle songs like "Boogie Wonderland" or "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is hard to take seriously.

If the "American Idol" creators genuinely cared about entertaining the fans instead of extending their brand development, they would have helped the finalists iron out these problems before trotting them out in front of arena-size crowds. You would think some musical genius would know that Ryan Starr starts singing "If You Really Love Me" in a key too low for her. Or that A.J. Gil and Jim Verraros need more help connecting with the audience. Or that Nikki McKibbin's slowed- down version of "Rhiannon" is misguided. Or that fans, especially these loyal, screaming teenagers, want to hear Clarkson bring the house down with "A Moment Like This."

I think the "American Idol" creators know all these things. They just don't care. After all, it's hard to hear anything over the sound of cash registers going off in their heads.