American Idol welcomes back Kellie Pickler

She didn't win American Idol Season 5, in fact she came in sixth place, but Kellie Pickler has still gone on to become one of the bigger success stories from the franchise. This week, the blonde bombshell who was made famous by her ditzy comments and naivete about ... well, everything, returns to the stage that made her a star. Idol continues it's trend of inviting contestants past onto the results show each week to perform, self-promote and serve as inspiration for the current Idol wannabes.

Rather than continue the tour of Idol runner-ups begun with Blake Lewis and Katharine McPhee the past two weeks, the show is sticking with Season 5 and going with Kellie Pickler. The move makes sense, as Pickler has had more commercial success than Season 4 runner-up Bo Bice. In fact, I think Season 5 has more success stories in the music biz than any other season, so maybe they'll just stay here for a bit and check in with Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington and Chris Daughtry while they're at it.

Need more American Idol? Get an inside look at Season 7's contestants and think back to these scathing (and hilarious) Simon Cowell quotes. Also: Don't forget to choose your favorite Idol!

As for Pickler, she'll be performing her single "Red High Heels" on Wednesday's results show. Considering what happened the last time Pickler appeared on American Idol, video of which appears to have been scrubbed from the 'net but let's just say that Ryan called her out on two "enhancements" she seemed to have picked up along the way, it could make for some fun live television.

Pickler's always fun on camera, and comes with a quick wit (even if it appears to involve "dumb" answers), so she should be a good foil for Ryan. However, considering that all the footage of her last appearance and subsequent interview with Ryan are gone, maybe the Idol machine or her management was none too pleased with his line of questioning and will be reigning him in.

Still, she's so incredibly amiable, I think she's an excellent choice for someone to come back and mingle with the remaining contestants. After all, if a contestant who came in sixth can be where she's at, then Paula's right about this being a stepping stone no matter when you get booted.