They’re Idols, Not Musical Legends

Recommended reading. Vulpi addresses what she sees as the over-praising of Hello! Project by certain people (hey, Radicalipton!), explaining where music and talent fits in the spectrum of activity that makes up idol life. The great part about this post is it never descends into ad hominem attacks and actually goes deeper into the issue at hand as Vulpi considers her own attitude towards idols at the moment.

Personally, I think it helps to think of idols as commodities first, and then models / singers / dancers afterwards.