Note: This chapter is my personal opinion and it is not to be used a fact.

Since I have a feeling most people might be wondering what's the difference between potential and talent, I've decided to write up a chapter explain the two! Talent is, well, what it sounds like. You have the ability to sing/dance/rap better than the average person. Potential, at least to me, is whether or not you have the ability to further your skill.

Since this is a little hard to explain with just words/definitions, I'll just use an example. How many of you guys watched Kpop Star 2 (or at least watched the performances once in a while)? I'm going to use Bang Yedam as an example. Y'all know him, right? The kid that auditioned with Justin Bieber's Baby and ended up coming out as the runner up? Honestly, when I first saw him, I thought he was the most adorable thing in the world and even though he was great & young (the boy was born in 2001), but I didn't give him a "wow, he's definitely going to be the winner this season" kind of feeling. Fast forward to the finale of the show. I don't pay attention to much reality/music competitions, so I honestly didn't know who stayed and who was eliminated. When I found out that Bang Yedam was one of the finalists, I was surprised. Honestly, I was a little upset that he made it that far (I was kind of biased with Andrew Choi and 2,000 won, sorry) because I didn't think he was that great compared to the others.

But, of course, putting my biased feelings aside, I realized the reason why Yedam made it so far. Don't get me wrong, I think Yedam is a talented kid, but I felt as if I would have liked him better once his voice went through puberty, and that's probably what went through the judges mind as well. Because Yedam is so young and just starting out a singer who still has a lot to learn, they must have thought "Hey, if he can blow everyone's minds now, imagine what he'd be like in 5 years." Like I said before, potential, to me, is whether someone has the ability to further their talent and make them better than they are at the moment. Yedam is talented right now, but give him vocal training and more experience, he'll end up debuting as someone who will blow everyone's minds.

Another perfect example is Shinee's Taemin. When Shinee first debuted, Taemin was just the main dancer, right? When you think of an amazing vocalist, you would have probably thought of Onew or Jonghyun. I remember watching a performance of In My Room and it was just Onew, Jonghyun, and Key singing. But, look at Taemin now. He was able to take Jonghyun's lines in Replay and execute them perfectly. Taemin debuted as a dancer, but because he had so much potential, he's now considered one of Shinee's great vocalists.

P.S. I'm sorry if this post is kind of confusing or offensive (especially to Bang Yedam fans). Also, being young doesn't mean you have more potential than others. You can have potential at any age; Bang Yedam just was the first one to come to my mind.

TL;DR: If you can become better at what you do, you have potential.

P.S: Here is my favorite performance from Lee Hi & 2,000 Won! And this is my favorite from Park Jaehyung & Raccoon Boys!