its not rigged, its a popularity contest..
ill give you another example... my 14yr old daughter is crazy over Ace but she didnt vote the other night... she said, i dont need to... ace will make it easily and im sure alot of his fans felt the same way..
on the other hand, Kevin has the sympathetic vote and all the little kids voting for him.......
it has nothing to do with, who is the better singer.. sadly..