Camille Howard, 16, of Sharon began to panic Thursday at the "American Idol" auditions when the song she had prepared to sing with backup music wasn't on the song list.

And as she and her mother, Carri, flipped through a booklet searching for another song, she didn't conceal her distress. "I'm just feeling nervous right now," she said.

Wearing a floor-length sequined-butterfly dress, with matching heels and a chignon, Camille eventually got on stage to sing Monica's "Angel of Mine." Her mother proudly looked on, snapping photos and encouraging her daughter with smiles.

Camille joined many nervous "American Idol" hopefuls, ranging from ages 16 to 24, who crowded McMenamy's Restaurant and Banquet Center in Niles, Ohio, waiting to audition for the next round of the popular Fox television show.

After Barbara Hammond, 23, of Pittsburgh, formerly of Farrell, finished singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," she walked to her seat and began to cry.

"I don't think I did very well," she said through tears, as her cousin Randi Hall of Sharon consoled her. Though she's graduating in December with a master's degree in speech pathology from Clarion University, she said singing is her dream. She didn't want to mess up that dream.

She wasn't alone. Many of the contestants showed up looking their best, hoping they had what it took to become a finalist. Contestant names were randomly drawn every half-hour to determine the order of auditions, and those singers were given one minute to sing. Due to time constraints, there was no guarantee that every contestant would get the opportunity to try out. Candidates were not allowed to have any recording, management or entertainment contract.

Of all the auditioners, three semifinalists were chosen to perform an entire song. Television station Fox 17/62, KISS FM 99.5 and Shooting Star Entertainment guaranteed that one of the three semi-finalists would win a trip to New York City to audition for the next "American Idol."

A panel of four judges included Bob Crosby, Vocal Group Hall of Fame president; Frank Dodd, lead singer of Frankie and the Sensations; Becky Keck, a director of student arts at Youngstown State University; and Sean Stevens, 95.9 KISS FM disc jockey. The judges were evaluating performances based on such standards as presentation and voice.

Forty people made it on-stage during the first hour of auditions. While many singers went for Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera songs, others chose gospel medleys or show tunes and most sang a capella.

"I think I was one of the first to sing with music," said Robert Smith, 23, of Farrell.

Smith sang Sisqo's "Incomplete" and was doing fine until toward the end of his song when his nervousness caused him to forget several of the words. "I'm going to stick around to see what happens," he said off stage. "Hopefully I'll make it. If not, I'll resume all life. Life goes on."

He was happy to know that people who didn't qualify or those who missed the tryouts can still travel Aug. 20 to Atlanta or Aug. 25 to New York City, for more auditions.