Auditions for season eight of American Idol kick off next week, and a slight alteration to the rules means that we may see some of the faces from last year again come January. The only people from last year’s show who are barred from trying out again, aside from those who have signed to a record label like car-dwelling hopeful Josiah Leming, are those who made the top 24–a change from previous years, which barred people who placed as low as 44th. Does this mean that the Idol producers are so scared of the unplumbed talent reserves out there, they’re looking to go back to the well of people who were OK, but not as charismatic as Ramiele Malubay? Is Paula getting tired of having to remember so many new people? Or do the powers that be really want to play up Kyle Ensley’s political leanings in the wake of the Presidential inauguration?

You are ineligible to participate if you progressed in any previous season of American Idol® to any of the following levels:
— Season 1 – top 30 contestants
— Season 2 – top 32 contestants
— Season 3 – top 36 contestants
— Season 4 – top 44 contestants
— Season 5 – top 44 contestants
— Season 6 – top 40 contestants
— Season 7 – top 24 contestants

Over at MJ’s Big Blog, the money seems to be on Ensley returning, but given Idol’s slide into the weird lately (does no one remember the extended remix of “I Am Your Brother” during the finale?), I’m betting that we’ll see some “where are they now?” packages on both fingernail-peeling cutie Brandon Greene and bubbleheaded abstinence diehard Amy Catherine Flynn. Who knows, maybe they’ll even give the “I Am Your Brother” guy a ticket to Hollywood, if only to prime the pump for a single release of a song that’s a lot more memorable than “This Is My Now.”

Season 7 Top 50 Who Didn’t Make the Top 24 Cut Are Eligible for American Idol Season 8 [MJ's Big Blog]