At the "American Idol" tryouts in Birmingham, Ala., thousands had their hopes for a coveted spot on the U.S. TV series dashed by show execs.

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The Birmingham News said while a few hundred would-be stars were green-lit Monday at the BJCC Arena to continue on to the next round of "Idol" auditions, nearly 10,000 were sent home with their dreams of a singing career crushed.

"I want to cry," the first person to be rejected, Melissa Jadwyn of Tuscaloosa, Ala., said afterwards. "I just want to go home and cry."

This week's audition in the Alabama city is one of seven major auditions in U.S. cities to narrow the field for a spot on the sixth season of the hit reality musical TV show.

The paper said that with between 150 to 300 people surviving each of those auditions, those contestants will then face a September audition with series execs before finally facing a final elimination by performing for "Idol" judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.