Pavarotti is the perfect example of this. He was a well respected opera singer in the 60s and 70s and then achieved global popularity as part of the Three Tenors in the early 1990s. He sang with loads of pop stars and sold millions of discs even though his voice was well past its prime.

Being on tour/recording/performing is not much an indicator of success. Most musicians do that regardless of their relative “goodness.”

As far as charts go, Miss Mussel is not really interested. Most of the music she listens to does not qualify for rating on the charts. This doesn’t make her better than others, it’s just the way it is. In lieu of an arbitrary list to tell her what to like, Miss Mussel prefers to evaluate each piece on its own artistic merits and decide from there.

What does Miss Mussel know about Il Divo? She knows that the members were handpicked by Simon Cowell because they check all the marketing boxes. In situations like this, the singing is really secondary to the image. Think, NKOTB, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls etc. Il Divo’s voices don’t command respect but Mr Cowell certainly does. He saw a hole in the market and filled it, expertly.