Pop music and your opinion about it.

Don't you think that many people might love and "respect" those scantily clad girls just as much as any other person respects musicians of a particular band?

For some reason, it doesn't seem that way. What is there to respect? The talent to sing along to a backing track and move various parts of their body? The lyrics are written by hired lyricists, and the music is composed by hired composers. The pop industry is something... how should I put it... soulless. A producer can promote anyone; physical appearance can be improved, and vocal skills don't matter much. Furthermore, these "scantily clad girls" successfully tour and release albums, which, as you noted, are quite popular. But we need to find a reliable source regarding the number of albums sold. And the country also matters; there are different standards of success for an album in different places. The above applies to modern performers (based on what I know about the pop industry, this is my opinion).