How To Be Popular

Having a conversation about Norah Jones and all her Grammy's, some friends and I were wondering what causes massive, universal musical appeal.

I probably got a bit carried away with the stats, but we came up with these contributing elements to achieving universal appeal:

a) Hype
b) Music of lowest common denominator (accessibility)
c) Inspiration (connected to The Muse)
d) Talent (technical)
e) Hard Work
f) Luck

Then, for any famous artist, decide what percentage of each of the above has contributed towards their success. It's kind of interesting how it sorts out and how low (d) and (e) keep rating. examples:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
Dave Matthews: 40%, 40%, 1%, 9%, 10%, 0%
Norah Jones: 10%, 10%, 35%, 15%, 10%, 20%