DeWyze continues to roll; shock elimination thwarted

Lee DeWyze and his bagpiper made it to the next round of "American Idol" on Wednesday.

Then again, no one was voted off the show.

Michael "Big Mike" Lynche was saved by the judges after he received the least number of votes.

Singing for his life, Lynche gave an impassioned performance of "This Woman's Work" - his best vocal of the season, the one that brought judge Kara DioGuardi to tears. By the time it was over, there was little question Lynche would be staying.

The "judges' save" was introduced last season and allows them to save one contestant, but it must be unanimous and it can only be used through the Top 5.

That means two contestants will be sent packing next week.

Before announcing that DeWyze was safe, host Ryan Seacrest asked him if he'd overcome the self doubt that crept into some of his performances.

"There's confidence in there," said the Mount Prospect native. "I just need to put it out there."

On Tuesday, DeWyze, 24, sang "Hey Jude" with the help of a bagpiper - a move the judges questioned but voters seemed to like.

Overall it was not a good night for the men. Lynche, Aaron Kelly and Andrew Garcia filled out the bottom three spots.

Adam Lambert will serve as guest mentor for the top nine contestants next week. Lambert - last season's runner up - will then perform Wednesday.