Let me ask you, what’s the first thing you imagine when you think about your crush or someone you admire? Is it the voice? Talent? I don’t think so. It’s the face.

Most people mistake idols as ‘SINGERS’. As I mentioned in the title, idols doesn’t have to be great singers. We can describe them as an “IMAGE PACKAGE”. Why, you ask? It’s because we do not like them just for one aspect but as a whole.

Idols are not only limited to singing but acting, modeling and even variety shows. I personally think it’s a lot to take for everyone to be good at everything. That’s why not all idols are great singers.

A popular example is SUPER JUNIOR and Girl’s Generation. I’m not saying that they’re bad but when you come to think of it, vocal-wise… they’re not that great (you know what I mean). You can count who sings great. But still… we like them. I like super junior because of their image back when they released the song “Happiness”. That time, it wasn’t the voice that I liked but the image they project. The wholesome image got me hooked. It’s almost the same for Girl’s Generation. And as you know about the group in shows variety programs, you grow to love them.

IMAGE is very important to be an idol, in a physical sense and a general sense. Think of it this way, if we have 5 great singers but lacking in personality or lacking in the looks department, do you really think you’ll be a big fan? In some way, image and personality impacts people into liking a certain person or a group. It happened to me. Once, I like a certain male idol that has a great voice but as I saw him more on shows and discovered how he treats the youngest member from his group, my attraction to him waned.

Not everyone in B1A4 sing well or dance great but because they project a good image and has a nice concept, they became popular.

And just because they can’t sing well, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be recognized. Kwanghee of Ze:a doesn’t sing as good as his co-member, Kevin but when you see him in variety shows, you can’t help but like him. He’s honest. He didn’t deny that he got plastic surgery. In fact, he’s proud of it. That kind of positive outlook attracts and gives people around him a good impression of him.

People are also forgetting the significance of constant vocal training these people are receiving. Not every great singer had good voices in the beginning. They required training and as time passed, they improved. It’s the same for those who couldn’t sing well and was accepted for their looks or their smile. Minho is a popular example. Initially, he was auditioning to be an actor but he became an idol because the judges liked his smile. He learned to rap and sing. His voice is not up to par with Onew and Jonghyun but in some way his soft voice compliments the rest of SHINee. Even Taemin didn’t sound great in the beginning. It was only during ‘Hello’ promotions did his voice became very good.

Every idol deserves to be recognized and respected. They train hard. Not everyone has the same discipline and determination as they have. Years spent in training with no assurance of making it big or be part of an idol group… that has got to be a gutsy move!! Zico from Block B has guts. He failed a lot and pursued to be a rapper. He received criticisms and still he worked hard.

I agree that underrated idols should be given a chance. They’re good and have a lot of potential. The only problem is that they lack in some aspect that appeal to the majority. Sometimes, it’s just the timing. In my opinion, U-KISS is underrated. One time, they had a shot of winning a top spot in a music program but failed because a more popular girl group suddenly released an album. See what I mean?

Everything written here is my opinion and everyone is entitled to have one. I'm not a know-it-all. I’m not saying that everything I've written were correct, but people… don’t assume that one idol group is better than the other. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s just respect that. Stop insisting that just because one group doesn’t sing as good as the group you’re rooting for, they don’t deserve to be popular.

Tell me your opinions^^ I want to know what you guys think as well.