The inherent irony of American Idol inviting Kanye West to perform on a show that’s purportedly all about finding America’s next great singer was not lost on Simon and the rest of the panel of judges, as they were nowhere to be found when Ye performed “Heartless†on the show last night. While we’ll likely never know why they opted to pass on front-row seats to the Kanye show (our bet is that they were getting their Rorshach on and fiendishly trying to decide which of the contestants were ripe for further humiliation), the simple truth is that they didn’t miss much of a performance. Taking the stage clad in the sort of all-denim outfit that a roots rocker might wear at Farm Aid (including, bizarrely enough, a pair of Banana Republic jeans), Kanye wasn’t able to match the emotional intensity he brought to his (widely mocked) SNL performance back in December. Consequently, he was never able to establish a true connection with the in-studio audience, who seemed content to save their shrilly shrieks for Kelly Clarkson’s truly mediocre performance later in the evening. In case you missed it, we’ve got the full performance for you after the jump. VultureWatchers, what say you?