In-studio audiences are asked to vote for their favorite competitor, as opposed to voting for the contestant that should be eliminated.
It’s a nicer way of doing the voting, but does occasionally lead to unexpected eliminations like what happened with Warwick.
Dionne Warwick thinks that once the judges/audience have you pegged, elimination is only a matter of time.
It is true that mystery does tend to take a higher importance over singing ability in terms of the show’s appeal, though it’s worth noting the voting system plays a factor as well.