American Idol': Kara keeps crying, and Ellen keeps to herself on the scene at Top 8 boys night

As any regular reader of these on-the-scene American Idol recaps knows, there is quite often a big ole difference between what a performance sounds like when it’s blasted through the juiced-up speakers in the Idoldome, and the subtle pitchy imperfections that can trickle through your TV speakers. The same is certainly true for the semi-finals’ Idolcupola, and the judges have said as much these past three weeks. Until last night, though, I hadn’t realized that there’s another disconnect between what y’all see on the HD plasma and what we see live and in person when it comes to the semi-finals — namely, the living person. Exhibit A: Michael Lynche.

I know he looks big on your TV, and I know his nickname is “Big” Mike. But, really and truly, as I discovered sitting in on my second night of EW’s exclusive look inside the Idol semi-finals, the dude is BIG. As in, he has presence on that stage, and as Ryan pointed out, he knows how to use his size to deliver a song. But the camera can do a funny thing; it can make the very big (Big Mike) and the very small (Teeny Aaron) seem somehow more average, more normal, especially when they’re performing alone without a point of comparison standing right next to them.

This is all a wordy preamble to this pretty simple point: In that room, Big Mike’s “This Woman’s Worth” killed with a capital K, and that has as much to do with the sheer size and force of the man himself as the impeccable vocals of his performance. When I watched it back on TV, though, the quick editing and swooping cameras somehow neutered all that, which is, I suspect, at least partly why Idol guru extrordinaire Michael Slezak and my mother both told me they thought Big Mike was kinda cheesy. I’m not saying the new father delivered anything close to Mindy Doo’s “My Little Valentine” or D’Archie’s “Imagine”; I’m just saying that, from where I sat, Randy’s shock, Ellen’s enthusiasm, Kara’s tears, and Simon’s “best of the semi-finals” praise all made sense to me.

Okay, end of mini-essay. Honestly, that’s kinda the best behind-the-scenes insight I have to give you, since I’m worried that the massive info-dump from yesterday’s Top 8 women recap left me without much new to say. I still couldn’t see the Coke Anteroom, nor the Top 8 women, so my attention was by default focused on Ryan and the judges. They all trickled in before the show in more-or-less the order you would expect: Kara and Ryan first, then Randy, then Ellen (again firmly latched to wife Portia de Rossi), then, with a minute to go before airtime, Simon.

Ryan’s oddly drawn-out opening caused Simon to say “Ryan” with a heavy sigh about the time the host slowly sauntered by Carol Brady Alex Lambert. After Lee Dewyze ably performed “Fireflies,” Kara giggled with Simon while Ryan gave out the belt-impaired rocker’s digits. The show went to its first ad break, and Debbie the Stage Manager ordered everyone to stay where they were and stay silent so Ryan could record a couple radio promos for the follow week’s two hour Top 12 performance show. The conceit: Ryan was at that very moment watching the Idol crew construct the Idoldome in the studio in preparation for the Top 12. Smoke and mirrors, kids, that’s all showbiz is, smoke and mirrors.

It was also during this promo that Ryan dropped the news that the Top 12 will be singing the music of the Rolling Stones, instantly causing me to wonder whether Bowersox will tackle “Wild Horses,” or go for broke with a left-field-for-her choice like “Satisfaction.” (That noise you heard, by the way, was Tyler “Kristen Baldwin once called me Mick Jagger ugly hot” Grady bellowing over his premature ouster to the Idol gods.)