Much of HIM's success has been attributed to Valo's songwriting ability, as well as his image and charisma. In 2004, "Metal Hammer" magazine described Valo as one of the few new "rockstars" in music, stating: "HIM were like no other band. They had a special something, but more importantly they had a special someone. Ville shone like a star with his blend of Mick Jagger posturing and Brandon Lee's dark charms in "The Crow"". "Helsingin Sanomat" described Valo's image as utilizing "the tried and true James Dean formula, where sensitivity and edginess combined." Valo possesses a baritone voice type with a five octave range, and was found by VVN Music to possess the eight-highest vocal range of any known singer in popular music. Valo was ranked number 80 in "Hit Parader"s "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time". "Loudwire" ranked him as the fourteenth greatest metal frontman of the 21st century, stating: "His baritone voice is undeniably gorgeous, his vampiric charisma is almost hypnotic, male fans desperately attempt to emulate him and female fans scream ballistically as if he was the second coming of Elvis." In 2004 and 2005, Valo was awarded the Golden God Award and the Icon Award, respectively, at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. In 2004, "Kerrang!" magazine named him the biggest sex symbol in the world, and in 2011, Valo was voted the "Hottest Dude In Hard Rock And Metal" by the readers of "Revolver" magazine. In 2018, Valo was voted "Finland's Hottest Guy" in a poll by MTV. Regarding these accolades, Valo has stated: "To be honest, I don't know what a sex symbol is. Compliments are nice, but I've always liked compliments on the music more."