Lee, I could reply saying that the reason you're mystified as to his popularity is that you've never bothered to listen to his album, haven't seen any performance of his since the FA showdowns, never heard any of the accoustic sessions he did in the academy and therefore have absolutely no fair criteria on which to judge him as a singer.
However, as you are a friend of mine I wouldn't dream of saying any such thing and will just say:
'each to his/her own'
