I believe you are right. In fact I was dishin' Idol with a friend of mine, who has always been a rocker, and I asked her, "I bet you really like Chris, huh?" and she said to me, "No, I really like the long haired guy, Ace." When I told her it cannot be because of his vocals, she got a little defensive until I said, "I KNOW it is because of his looks, you are not fooling me, you dog!" She had to admit it--though somewhat sheepishly.
He is skating on his appeal, not his talent. Kinda like MOST pop stars out there.