The screaming began when the lights darkened.

It escalated when silhouettes of men appeared onstage, strapping on guitars, and when the beat of drums boomed through the auditorium.

And by the time a tall, familiar figure appeared under a red spotlight with baggy jeans, drooping curls and a riff of his guitar, the sound was deafening.

OMG, it was John Mayer, live at the Roanoke Civic Center.

And the girls in the crowd heart him.

(For the crowd that doesn't use text messages, that's: "Oh My God" and "They love him.")

The pop singer performed Wednesday night in Roanoke during a stop on his Continuum tour, which launched last month in Florida.

For those not schooled in his mop-haired awesomeness, Mayer, 29, is a Connecticut-born singer whose first studio album, 2001's "Room for Squares," went multiplatinum.

Consensus is, he's a cutie.

He's hot enough for a group of Radford High School girls to start a countdown 100 days ago to his concert -- a tally that began more than 100 days ago. Another wore a T-shirt that read, "John, will you Mayer me?"

Then, there was EllaKate Brown. She had a dream in which her friend Sarah Taylor, 15, got a rash and couldn't go to the concert.

So in her dream, EllaKate, 15, did what any good friend would -- she ditched her pal and went to the show alone. Then, she made out with the pop star.

"It was the worst day of my life," Sarah said of her friend's sleep scenario.

Since he became a heartthrob, Mayer has released two more albums, won a handful of Grammys and established a following among the ladies.

His soulful, make-your-heart-swoon songs include "Your Body is a Wonderland" and "Daughters." And for those of you whose daughters have not schooled you in his cuteness, flip through this week's People magazine or US Weekly -- you'll find pictures of him with rumored girlfriend Jessica Simpson.

In Roanoke, rumor was that Simpson joined Mayer at the civic center. True or not, the singer was surrounded by affection.

"There's just something about him that's irresistible," said Mary Bohon, who attends Lord Botetourt High School.

The crowd surrounding Mary in the pre-concert T-shirt line sang "Happy Birthday." She turned 17 on Wednesday, and her mother, Margaret Bohon, bought her the tickets as a present.

Not that Mom was dragged to her daughter's first concert. Mom's a big fan, too.

"He's your hamburger and hot dog kind of guy with potato chip," Bohon said.

Although the near-sellout crowd of 7,000 included moms and men, it was a largely younger group in which boys were outnumbered by teen girls in jeans toting paisley Vera Bradley purses.

They like his lyrics, they said, and the way he plays guitar. They like his face, his down-to-earth demeanor and the way you can drift to sleep to his music.

Some have been fans since his first album -- which debuted, like, five years ago.

And, there was, like, total overuse of the word, "like."

"We had to go shopping, like, four different times," said Mary Marcenelle, a 16-year-old from Christiansburg, who learned Mayer was coming when a friend saw his concert advertised on TV during "The OC."

Everything Mayer did elicited screams.

They shrieked at each song, especially familiar ones such as "Why Georgia," or his current radio hit "Waiting On the World to Change."

They screamed when he spoke to the crowd.

"It's a packed house. It's pretty cool," he said from stage.

They roared during instrumental breaks.

And midway through the show, two young women near the back stood and shouted, "I love youuu John!"

There were no Simpson sightings this night, and no word on whether she was jealous.