CARIBOU – A Caribou girl soon will be making a return to national television.

Molly Bouchard, 12, will again be on “Star Search,” which debuts for the season at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, on CBS. Molly finished as first runner-up in the junior singer category on the second of the talent show’s three tournaments held last season.

A fan favorite last year, Molly’s parents, Bonnie and Jeff Bouchard, got an exploratory call in early December from the show’s producers.

“They asked if we’d consider allowing her to come back,” Bonnie recalled. “It was Molly’s decision. She said, ‘Are you kidding? Of course.'”

Three out of six of last year’s champions and runners-up were invited back. Returning to face new challengers in the junior singers category will be Molly, David Archuleta (who edged Molly in her tournament) and Mark Mejia.

On the show, hosted by Arsenio Hall, two contestants go head to head and are rated by a panel of celebrity judges. But, after the show, viewers also vote via the Internet, with the judges’ scores and the Internet vote equally weighted. Twice last season, Molly trailed on the judges’ scorecards, but won because of Internet support from viewers, her mother said.

This year’s tournament is set up differently. Two new challengers square off at the beginning of each live show. The winner of the first round can then “call out” one of the three in the “winners’ circle.” The high scorer of that competition will be in the winners’ circle for the next week. The winner in each category at the end of the nine-week event wins $100,000.

Since last March, Molly has kept up her twice-weekly voice lessons. She also just recorded her first single, the original song “My Heart” written by Caribou musician Paul Michaud, which hasn’t been released yet.

The Bouchards take off for Hollywood on Sunday, and could be there for nine weeks, if all goes well for Molly. They’ll be put up in their own apartment, instead of staying at a hotel like last year. While there, she’ll again be working with nationally renowned vocal coach Seth Riggs.

Molly, a seventh-grader at Caribou Middle School, will be allowed to take along her laptop to keep up with her class work through the Internet.

“We’ll be better prepared for how the scheduling will be, for what she’ll be doing out there,” Bonnie said.

National audiences will see a change in the appearance of Molly, who turns 13 the day after “Star Search” debuts.

“She’s grown 4 inches, her hair is shorter, her whole look has matured,” Bonnie said.

Although contest rules prohibit her from disclosing what songs Molly would perform, Bonnie said her daughter would get away from the show tunes she sang last year to more pop and pop-country songs.

“The songs we’ve chosen are very much age-appropriate,” Bonnie said. “The songs are going to show off more of what she can do.”

Bonnie said that Molly is ready for her return to “Star Search.”

“She is very optimistic,” she said. “Her approach is ‘I don’t know why I lost. But this is an opportunity that I’ve been given, although I’m not sure why, but I hope that getting this opportunity means I’m meant to win.’ She’s going in to have fun, but she’s ready to work hard to win.”

Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 or dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.