RICHIE WANTS TO RELEASE IDOL'S HELLO COVER

LIONEL RICHIE was so knocked out by pop wannabe DAVID COOK's rock version of HELLO on Tuesday night's (04Mar08) AMERICAN IDOL, the soul man is planning to release the track as a single.

Richie, who scored a massive hit with the power ballad in 1984, was stunned when he watched Cook performing the cover on U.S. TV - and now he's hoping to have another hit with the song.

And Richie couldn't have agreed more with American Idol judge Simon Cowell, when the Brit told Cook, "I think Lionel Richie will be very happy when he hears that."

Richie says, "I am putting that song out... myself, with David on it... That is a smash record that David did the other night... I couldn't believe it.

"David just played it as if it was his song from the beginning - there was no Lionel Richie involved. He had the arrangement. It was fabulous... he just killed it."