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On Tuesday night, "American Idol" finalist DAVID COOK blew the judges away -- including the picky SIMON -- with his rockin' rendition of LIONEL RICHIE's hit ballad "Hello." And it wasn't just Simon, RANDY and PAULA who took notice, but Lionel himself!

"I'm putting that song out tomorrow myself with David on it," he said during RYAN SEACREST's KIIS-FM show. "That is a smash record David did the other night."

He said the amateur singer did what artists are supposed to do, he made the song his own. "David just played it as if it was his song from the beginning and there was no Lionel Richie involved," he said. "He just killed it."