‘AMERICAN Idol” promised to make big changes to the show this season – but this week we’re going to find out that the changes are going a lot further than we thought.

There’s a new judge and fewer train-wreck auditions.

But that looks like it’s only the beginning of what seems like a mission to fiddle with the “Idol” formula.

Tomorrow night, the Top 36 are to be announced and – if the spoiler sites are right – a lot of the semi-finalists are there because they have bigger personalities than singing abilities.

It would seem characters are starting to trump singers.

Take Tatiana Del Toro, 24, the Latina singer with the annoying laugh and a penchant for Miss America-like speechifying.

She was featured prominently along with Katrina Darrell – the infamous Bikini Girl – during last week’s group round.

While Bikini Girl’s talent-free “Idol” ride was cut short after her poorly received group number, Del Toro somehow managed to advance to the next round, despite an equally unimpressive showing.

Then, there is sketch comedian Nick Mitchell, 27, who arriving at the New York auditions calling himself “Normund Gentle.”

Mitchell was probably hoping for a little exposure on the biggest TV show in America. His hammy renditions of “And I Am Telling You” and “Amazing Grace” made the judges laugh, but also earned him a golden ticket, much to his surprise.

Comedians who tried to make it on “Idol” in the past were typically met with almost instant elimination.

Nick is not only still in the game, but is also one of the reported Top 36.

Drama queen Nathanial Marshall, 19, whose on-screen antics rival Del Toro’s, is also in the contest way longer than his vocal skills might have carried him.

To be sure, there are some talented singers in this bunch, including the theatrical Adam Lambert, 26, the nerdy but soulful Anoop Desai, 21 and R&B diva, Lil Rounds, 23.

And viewers tend to vote the good singers through – eventually. But the twist this year is that the judges, for the first time since Season 3, will get to choose three of the Top 12 finalists in a wild-card show.

With producers promising more dramatic “backstage footage” of the contestants once the competition begins, the judges could stack the deck with characters rather than vocal talent.

And fans – who continue to be obsessed with who is “real” and who is in it for notoriety – will then have to decide if it’s still the same old “Idol.”

M.J. Santilli writes about “Idol” for mjsbigblog.com.