The final audition episode of American Idol’s tenth season began with tears. Many Idol auditions end this way; well, actually that isn’t true. We have to admit, when the pretty blonde girl looked at the camera and cried, “Just because somebody farts, let ‘em finish singing, okay?” we were a little surprised.

Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert came from San Francisco, so expectations for the city ran high.

Inessa Lee, 22, is originally from the Ukraine and spends a lot of time making YouTube videos. During her on-camera interview, she compared herself to the likes of Katy Perry, Shakira and Madonna. Her breathy voice had a pleasant tone to it, but Inessa isn’t much of a singer. “You’re so cute and precious,” Steven Tyler told her, but he found that her “pitch and melody was all over the place.” “You have a young spirit,” Jennifer Lopez offered. The entire panel rejected Inessa, but her spirits weren’t dampened in the least.

Brittany Mazur, 21, was a much better singer. Lara Johnston, 20, also managed to impress the judges. Matthew Nuss, 25, has horrible hair but a beautiful voice. All three impressed the panel to receive resounding “yes” votes.

Stefano Langone, 21, is from Washington State . . . and, because he’s got an interesting story, he got a lot of camera time. In 2009, Langone was in a near-fatal accident. His body is riddled with scars, and despite doctors’ predictions he is able to walk normally. Langone is a good-looking kid, and though his rendition of “Heard It Through the Grapevine” wasn’t original, it was pleasant. It didn’t matter. The “survivor” story was enough to win him a golden ticket on its own merits, because that’s how Idol works.

Clint Jun Gamboa, 26, hosts karaoke at a club in Long Beach, California. He’s got his own style (bad) and a ton of confidence (misplaced). He belted out “Billionaire” for the judges with plenty of swagger and too many runs. Gamboa may not be Idol material, but just about anybody can make it past the Season 10 panel. “Wow,” Randy Jackson cried. Steven Tyler found it “brilliant,” and J-Lo repeated “very nice” twice.

Drew Beaumier, 24, came to his audition in a full Transformers outfit (he was a Ford Mustang) that actually converted into a car. Drew rolled right across the audition room floor, and his was possibly the best costume we have ever seen. When he sang “Born to Be Wild,” it was literally hard to listen to him, but Beaumier has a career in front of him. His talent for costume design is amazing. Steven Tyler thought the outfit was “slamming,” but rejected Beaumier anyway.

Julie Zorrilla came to the audition on her 20th birthday. She’s originally from Columbia. Her parents were very wealthy there and lived on an estate, but because of the unrest in the country they simply walked away one day and left everything behind. Zorrilla gave the judges an unusual version of “Summertime” that was frankly horrible, but there’s no question she can sing despite the abominable arrangement. Randy Jackson thought she made some “interesting choices,” and all judges gave Zorrilla a positive vote to send her to Hollywood. She definitely deserves the chance to mutilate more songs.

Emily Anne Reed, 26, is an adorable little redhead who arrived to the audition with an acoustic guitar. A terrible house fire wrecked her home recently, leaving her with very little. She sang “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me,” and strangely didn’t play the guitar. Reed’s voice is extremely unusual, but not unpleasant. Jennifer Lopez thought it was “the most interesting voice” they’d heard in a while. Steven Tyler thought the “melody was a lot to be desired.” Randy Jackson disagreed, saying he liked Reed’s voice. He quickly threw the ball in J-Lo’s court, asking her to make the decision. Lopez decided to give her “one more chance” and gave Reed her golden ticket. Tyler then asked Emily Anne to play the guitar, which she did.

James Durbin, 21, was the last contestant of the day. He wears a faux hawk and dresses like it’s the early '90s. None of it feels genuine. Durbin is the child of a single mom. His father was a professional musician and often absent. Now, James will never have the chance to know his father; he passed away from a drug overdose. Durbin suffers from both Tourette and Asperger syndromes. One is a disorder that’s associated with ticks and uncontrolled speech; the other is a form of autism. Durbin now has a girlfriend and son. He’s a highly emotional kid who spent most of his camera interview crying. He sang strongly for the judges, however, and hit a note that did Steven Tyler proud. After he belted out “Dream On,” with Tyler’s permission, it was clear Durbin would be moving on. “You sing from a really different place,” Jennifer Lopez observed. “My God, what a range,” Randy Jackson was blown away.

And what that, the auditions are over (at last), and the epic Hollywood event is scheduled to begin Thursday night. Re-cap on all the auditions cities, and get to know the Hollywood contestants, with our American Idol 10 posts.