Yes and no. American Idol is not rigged. The risk of killing the golden goose is too great for them to risk it. Check out the movie "Quiz Show" to see why the risk is too great. However... There are a lot of things that the producers of the show can do that can influence the audience's votes and they do all of them. For example at the recap (just before the voting starts) they show clips of the performances. Those performers that the producers wish to continue to the next week will have the best parts of their performances shown. Those that the producers want to get rid off will show parts of the performance where the contestant was off key or forgot the words. The producers will also arrange for info on certain performers to be "leaked" to the press. For example that one contestant used to be employed as an "exotic" dancer, which will almost certainly guarantee their being voted off. Or that the initials on one performer's guitar are those of their handicapped sibling, which will almost certainly cause a sympathy surge in their votes. The producers also take great care in designing the little vignettes that play before each performance. They are edited to give the most psychological impact on the viewers and are a great source of subliminal pressure on the viewer to vote one way or another. There is also the opinions of the Judges to consider. I personally don't think the Judges are being told who to like and who to knock, but there is no arguement that their opinions do influence the voting. Hope this helps.

It feels like its rigged but i guess its not... IDK how many but i hope Danny Noreaga dosnt try out again!