So, as "American Idol" has continued building steam week after week, a niggling feeling has started to grow that even though the performances are live (at least for the East Coast), we might be missing something while watching from the comfort of our living rooms. Could it be merely personal taste that sometimes leaves us wondering if the judges (and studio audience) are reacting to the same performance we just enjoyed, or endured?

Luckily, for a TV writer there's an easy way to put such questions to rest -- attend a taping. With only five finalists left, it was the perfect time. The competition was fierce, but the performances still varied in quality.

That's how I found myself in a soundstage that, according to the usher, seats "300 something people" and looking at the homemade signs professing love for all of the contestants, and one of the judges.

And no, it wasn't Paula Abdul.

While waiting for five people under the age of 25 to serenade me with Burt Bacharach love songs, I looked around for possible celebrity attendees. However, unlike last week when both "Dog Eat Dog's" Brooke Burns (rumor has it she and host Ryan Seacrest have something going on) and big-in-Japan singer/actress Jennifer Love Hewitt stopped by, it was star-free (although I supposedly missed Wayne Brady).

Except for former finalist Ryan Starr, who was in the house along with fellow losers Jim Verraros, Ejay Day and the recently booted Christina Christian. No one mentioned where the only missing finalist, A.J. Gil, was, and his absence didn't stop the show's producers, staff and assorted hangers-on from treating all of them like it was old home week.

Before the show started, one of the producers came out to warm up the crowd -- coaching everyone to stand up and wave their hands in the air at the point during the group's show-opening performance of "That's What Friends Are For" when the singers stand and walk downstage.

What? You thought that was spontaneous?

Finally, after the judges and hosts filed in, and in between the product placements and commercial breaks (not to mention a crash course on who Bacharach is and why he's important for the show's core audience), we got to what we'd come for -- the performances.

Kelly Clarkson, the dark horse contender who has steadily risen in favor after giving spot-on performances week after week, started things off. Having changed her song at the last minute from "Anyone Who Had a Heart" to the popular "Walk On By," Clarkson let loose so fiercely that there's no doubt that any intended party would do just that.

Of all the contestants, Clarkson seemed to be enjoying herself the most. Her talent is natural and she has fun, a highly underrated quality. The power of her voice sent chills, and while the hand waving was coached, the hand clapping keeping time with Clarkson that broke out almost immediately was not. It felt like everyone, as if they were sitting in a bar, wanted to sing along with her.

In fact, during the commercial break following the judges' comments to Clarkson, the audience had to be asked to keep their enthusiasm in check so that the contestants didn't miss their starting note and everyone could hear what the judges were saying.

Whether it was combatting the images of the recently deceased Dudley Moore and increasingly campy Liza Minelli that the song brings to mind, or trying to reconcile Helton's two-sizes-too-small white shirt and dark pants that made him look like a cross between a Bible salesman and '70s-era Travolta, the room lost energy immediately.

Tamyra Gray was next with "The House Is Not a Home" and predictably everybody was blown away. She cried. Paula cried. It was an all around love fest for all in attendance.

Minus me.

Simon Cowell said Gray had given a Whitney Houston, Celine Dion-level performance. That may have been the problem. Every second felt planned and precise. When Gray wanted the audience to listen, they listened. When she wanted them to respond, they responded, but not too much. Once I got over that big strong voice coming out of her itty-bitty body, I was bored. By being too perfect, Gray robbed the whole rendition of any emotion.

Now for Justin. Justin Guarini definitely has the "X" factor. Sexy and smooth, he came across like the real deal as he crooned his way through "The Look of Love." On TV, at least. Interestingly enough, in person it's obvious that he's aware of where the cameras are at any given moment and is playing to them, leaving his live fans to be happy with sloppy seconds.

Nikki McKibbin came last.

Poor Nikki. Being a rock-'n-roll girl in this contest has got to be tough. For all of Simon's harsh comments, I wish he would just tell her to get herself a band and become the next Courtney Love. Instead, she's been made to suffer through themes that are entirely wrong for her, such as Motown and Big Band.

Bacharach was also not a good fit, but McKibbin still gave it her best shot. Realizing she's on her last legs she came out and worked it. Not only did she push herself, but she revved up the audience, enlisting their help in making this about more than just the competition. By the end, she had everyone rooting for her.

Well, maybe not everyone. None of the judges were impressed.

Two hours later, ensconced on the couch with Chinese takeout, I watch the show when it airs on the West Coast.

Justin is way hot and his performance is smoking, pulling me in until I remember that he cares much more about his faceless millions than the identifiable 300 somethings in the studio audience. I'm surprised that I had somehow missed how RJ had rushed through most of his song. Tamyra's performance doesn't leave me cold the way it had in person, but I'm kind of turned off about how, on a repeat viewing, she seems to be vocally all over the place.

The most stunning difference is in Nikki. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. She's horrible, right up there with Ryan Starr's slaughter of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" that was her undoing.