Do you still think visuals matter more than talent?

So I was just checking Red velvet solos on Spotify and I was really surprised to see Wendy being the only member with 1m+ listeners. She was always considered the least popular member in RV but now she is the most listened to and is also embarking on a solo tour.

Who would have thought of this in 2018? Did anyone really expect Wendy to be more successful individually than Irene and Seulgi who were the indisputable top 2 when RV was active? Especially Irene?

In the long run it really seems like visuals don't matter cuz Irene is irrelevant now and Wendy is still doing well and will continue to do so cuz she's talented and will always be in demand for her vocals.

Quote from selfmate

two different questions

1. do visuals matter more than talent - yes BUT only if the talent in question is singing and dancing and rapping...since I've said it many times before there is much more talent than merely those three...

the visual might not be the most popular member in the group but rarely will they be the least popular

2. do visuals matter in the long run - it matters less as time goes on since unless one maintain one's visuals forever they will fade but in terms of an idol's career (say at least the first seven years + say 2 3-year contract extensions) visuals matter a lot

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Oops yeah I was having lunch when writing this post so my entire focus wasn't here lol, I edited the poll title.

Sure visuals are never the least popular member but they also tend to become irrelevant quicker, they peak higher than everyone and then start to decline slowly cuz they have nothing else to offer other than their faces. Examples are Irene, Tzuyu, and Jisoo. Note that none of these idols are nugu but its a fact that all of them have been surpassed by their bandmates.

I think doing some other thing like hosting/acting is the best way to retain their popularity but again you need to be talented to do well in those fields and become more than just a B/C tier actress. So yes I do think talent matters more than visuals esp if you want to stay relevant for a long time.

Quote from selfmate

but that's why a lot of visuals transfer to become something other than singers post their idol career

when you say surpassed - well by some not all...which is why I said the visual member will rarely be the least popular but I never said they will always be the most popular.

acting/hosting is but two of the criteria however there is much more to "talents"...I understand this is kpop where most people when discussing talents referring to the performance aspect of things - the singing/dancing/rapping however there is so much more to the non performance aspects which do include acting/hosting/writing/producing/modelling/etc etc

however I am talking even about the talents that aren't "talents" per se and what I mean by that is things like - marketability, likeability, personality, charm, charisma, wit etc etc. Those things in kpop matter a lot more than the performance aspects of talent since those things will continue to make an idol money in the long run far after their looks fade

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Charisma and charm are not going to make ppl listen to your music tho.. and there will always be someone more charming in each gen. It's not something exclusive to one person like music or even better voice.

Wittiness and personality are best displayed in variety and Sana is the best example of that. She is the host of a successful variety show thanks to that so of course idols can always bank on their personality but not everyone is interesting enough to overcome 1 hour long episodes.

Quote from Minazuki

I think charisma is more important. If the person is both charismatic and talented or charismatic and visually appealing, then It's the best combo.

The former is the superior combo and the latter doesn't even come close imo. No matter how beautiful you are it won't make pol tune into a 16 hour long drama or listen to your music cuz music requires much more than a beautiful face

Quote from Tru-Multistan

I think both talent and visuals alone can only take you so far but talent can probably take you further in the long run by itself.

This. Exactly.

Quote from Tru-Multistan

But you still need to be likable and charismatic to be really successful like Jennie or other similar. She’s not some exceptional talent, but she is extremely beautiful, insane stage presence, and very likable.

She is none of these things except maybe insanely charismatic. She is easily the least likeable member of BP and is not a classic beauty.

What makes her popular is that she knows her strengths. She is not the most talented but has enough talent to branch out from her group and do well on her own. To add to this, she has a great team behind her. Overall, I don't think she is the best example. There are several other reasons as to why she is popular.

Quote from Elliah

It's not just a visual vs. talent thing, it's star power that's the most important. Sometimes the visual has it, and sometimes it's someone else that has the most charisma/it-factor.

But I think strong vocal talent alone gives you better longevity than just visuals alone.

You think Wendy has more star power than Irene? It's clearly a talent thing

Quote from kahei

I think visuals will get you a lot of attention at first but that is risky and unstable because soon enough, another top-tier visual will come and steal the spotlight. Having talent, while maybe you won't reach top of the top (at least not quickly), you will still have longevity and a stable fanbase.

Precisely. Wendy and Irene, Jihyo and Tzuyu prove this.

Quote from what-if-i

wendy's spotify number is due to her collab with jin

Irene is at 200k. Jin def helped but Wendy's last album also has more streams than Irene's

Quote from Elliah

No I don't, that's not what I tried to say.

With Wendy Irene example I don't think either of them have any big star-power. And since talent takes you longer than visuals alone, Wendy's doing better in the long run. If Irene had more star-power + likability in addition to her visuals, I think she could've done better than Wendy (not necessarily music-wise, but more popular as an idol overall, maybe modelling, MCing or whatever).

What is star power here? Luck? She shot herself in the foot in the likability department.

The thing is if she had the talent to go into acting or she could sing, not being likeable wasn't an issue.