What really goes on at those 'Idol' auditions?

Thanks to the age bump in season 4 (from 24 to 28), I became eligible to audition and did so in Cleveland. 36 hours after I arrived at Soldier Field, I joined 2 other contestants in a line in front of a white picnic tent on the field. I sang Whitney's "One Moment in Time" and was then asked to sing it again...and again (apparently I stopped too soon each time). I was awarded the then coveted bracelet that indicated I would progress to the next round. Less than 500 of the 25,000 people from the stadium survived round 1.
Rounds 2 and 3 took place the following day at a hotel in Cleveland. Round 2 was judged solely by Ken Warrick, if you survived his critique (as I did) then you were moved to another line awaiting the judgment of Nigel Lythgoe. Fortunately, I was one of the 104 that survived these rounds and received the invite for the celebrity audition (2 weeks later).
As an interesting side note, you are instructed to wear the same thing to the celebrity audition as you did for the round 2/3 day. This is so that they can splice clips from each and it appears the same day.
The celebrity auditions took place over 2 days, splitting 52 contestants each day. Being on day 2, I had the knowledge that they kept 16 from day 1. However, knowing the ratio from day 1, it was not encouraging when both of the contestants in front of me (including Antony Federov) got the Hollywood bid (could it be 3 in a row). Season 4 was when they introduced guest judges in the cities; Cleveland was the first of these cities and found LL Cool J sitting in. LL ran the show for my audition with the preliminary pleasantries and such. I sang my song ("One Moment in Time"...again). LL responded that he loved it and imagined himself in a stadium full of people as I sang it. Randy said I sounded like Clay Aiken in my upper register. Paula said she liked it...and then Simon. Simon did not comment at all on my vocals, but indicated that he thought I looked like a "photo copier salesman." Paula then chimed in, that it was actually Jimmy Fallon that I resembled to which both Randy and LL agreed. Simon replied, "Well, maybe Jimmy Fallon selling photo copier machines." The end result was "Its 3 yes's and a no from me, but you're going to Hollywood." [Simon]
I recognize at this point that my comment has become exhaustive. To wrap it up, my stint in Hollywood (3 months later) was swift. I flew out on a Sunday morning, was eliminated on Monday, and flew back on Tuesday morning.
There are certainly many more details that I could give. In all, it was a fun experience, although the outcome was not what I had hoped for. I met some extraordinary people, and given the choice, I would do it all over again.

I auditioned for the show twice. The first time was for season 3. I auditioned in New York and made it past the first initial round. I was then told by the producers that I looked and sounded too much like Ruben Studdard, the previous season's winner. So I decided that I would give it a couple of years. I auditioned for this current season in Memphis. Tons of people there. I met some really wonderful singers. I auditioned with 3 other people for the "pre screener" judge. She sent the other three home and asked me to stick around. She then asked me to sing 3 other songs. I thought that it was a lock that I would go on to the next round. At the end of my fourth song, I was told that I was not what they were looking for this season. She said that they were looking for a Madonna/Britney Spears type. I was deeply upset and felt like she could have relayed that information to me after my first song. All in all, the auditions are a good way to build your performance character and to meet great people. I had a blast but I think that process is very backwards. In their selection process, they should keep good singers and keep bad singers for entertainment purposes. Maybe they can have 4 days for the judges. Split them in half for good singers and bad singers. I know that it might cost a little more but this show makes millions of dollars. What a few extra thousand going hurt when you have more of a chance discovering undiscovered talent and possibly making money off of that individual? Well I have done enough yapping but I plan to make my stamp in the music industry very soon. It is my life and my love.