'Big Mike' draws tears, cheers on 'American Idol' (AP)

Lynche, a mountain of a guy who lives up to his nickname, performed last among the eight male semifinalists Wednesday and emerged as the star of the Fox TV show.

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"You come out with an incredibly difficult song to sing, and you 100 percent nailed it," said Simon Cowell . "Not just the best performance of the night, it was the best performance of all these live shows so far." The eight female semifinalists performed Tuesday, with the top six vote-getters from the men's and women's groups to be announced Thursday.Lynche, 26, of Astoria, N.Y., moved impressively from a quiet falsetto start to a booming finale, but it was as much the story behind the song as his range that touched DioGuardi. Lynche's wife had a baby girl while he was in Los Angeles making the cut for "Idol." "It's amazing. You were amazing," DioGuardi said. "It's your life right now, it's your respect for your wife, what you've gone through. ... It brought me to tears." The other contestants, who may have been glad they didn't have to follow Lynche, picked up a mixture of praise and criticism.

Full Story: 'Big Mike' draws tears, cheers on 'American Idol' (AP)