NASHVILLE, TN  [Tuesday Feb.27.2007]  /WMQT.com/ -- Martina McBride , Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler have been tapped to appear on upcoming episodes of American Idol. Carrie and Kellie return as former contestants, while Martina returns because Idol hopefus worshipped her music enough to compete by singing songs she made famous. That includes Carrie who sang "Independence Day," during her competition.

No date has been announced for Martina's appearances. On Thursday night's show, it was said that Martina would play a bit of a "coaching" role for finalists as part of her visit to the FOX show.

Look for Kellie to stop by Thursday's (March 1) installment of American Idol - she plans to sing her current hit, "I Wonder," as she returns to the show for the first time since competing a year ago. Carrie will walk onto the Idol stage a week later (March 8). This will be her second return to the show since being crowned the winner in May 2004. Since then, she's gone on to sell more than five-million copies of her debut album while also racking up a string of awards that include the Best New Artist Grammy and the CMA's 2006 Female Vocalist of the Year and Horizon Award.

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