The cinematography was beautiful. Backlit shots of the performers with a hint of the audience behind them. Fades in and out of each shot. Dramatic pans of the performers' faces dissolving into the darkness at the end of each song.

This makes for great television and that's what the "American Idol" concert tour was -- one big TV show.

The audience sat down through most of the show while two screens flanking the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., took center stage Friday night showcasing the talents of the top 10 finalists (actually, top nine -- RJ Helton was absent because of illness) of Fox's summer hit reality show.

Opening with the show's popular theme song, the audience quickly established their role as unresponsive couch potatoes. From the first finalist voted off to the show's winner, a montage of the contestants' auditions flashed across the screen to introduce each singer's solo performance. No effort was given to rile up the audience with a catchy start.

The first four singers should be thankful the producers even included them in the "Top 10" tour. Their lack of stage presence made their performances feel more like a karaoke session than a concert.

A gasping crowd watched finalist Ejay Day run around the stage while wailing "Black Cat." His bleached blond hair was more entertaining than his performance.

The audience had a hard time locating Jim Verraros, as he emerged from somewhere underneath the stage on a park bench. Clad in pure white, Verraros' choice tune "Easy" confirmed the room's innocent ambience.

A.J. Gil, introduced as the next "Latin sensation," aroused the night's first true screams when he took his jacket off, revealing a wife beater, while belting "My Cherie Amour." The first female finalist, Ryan Starr, set the precedent for skin-bearing outfits wearing a cut-up Incubus T-shirt, barely covering what needed to be covered for the G-audience. She also barely performed "If You Really Love Me."

Christina Christian led off the string of could-be-stars with "Ain't No Sunshine," truly commanding with her dramatic style. Tamyra Gray, a strong vocalist, involved the audience by encouraging cheers during her polished performance of "I'm Every Woman."

Nikki McKibbin, once the sweet, clean-cut, long-haired blonde we saw on the WB's "Popstars" two seasons earlier, showcased her newfound rock persona with "Piece of My Heart." Justin Guarini, clearly a crowd favorite, was introduced as "Yo' favorite curly-topped man" as the entire audience stood up to hear him sing "Get Here."

"American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson finally came on stage to perform her famed audition song "Respect." Clarkson is a true star, with honest passion and natural comfort shining through in a captivating vocal performance. Unlike the other girls, she didn't need to show any skin to validate her stardom.

The solos were followed by an intermission, or actually, a commercial break with ads for various "American Idol" products flashing across the screen.

The second half of the show is where the first should have started, with enthusiastic group numbers. The guys struggled through the dance moves on their opener, *NSYNC's "Pop." The girls followed with "Free Your Mind," displaying a group presence rivaling that of fellow reality-show-discovered singers, Eden's Crush.

Guarini, McKibbin, Gray and Clarkson performed additional solos, with Guarini seeming to outweigh Clarkson in stage time.

The highlight of the show was the group medley numbers, which celebrated the culture of great American music and transformed "American Idol" into the new version of "American Bandstand."

Clarkson performed her first music-video single, "Before Your Love," aided by professionalism far beyond her years and experience.

As audience members sat down to wait for the encore, the overhead lights came on, signaling the end of the show -- with Clarkson's trademark single, "A Moment Like This," clearly missing from the show.

The couch potatoes probably couldn't have handled much more anyway; they had already started trickling out in small groups and getting antsy in their seats during the last few songs.

Perhaps it was time for them to change the channel.