^ I'm sure there are tons of artists that wish they could have ended up like Seiko Matsuda. She is really the only famous female artist that is still around and doing relatively well after such a long time. And I agree popstars need to sell, but then by following the trend, you'd think Next Level would have sold better.
Yet an album that totally doesn't follow any current music industry trends is going to end up being the best selling original album of the year.
As for your reasons to demonstrate her rising popularity, I really wouldn't count the broadcasts of tour related things as an indicator. Those were all aired on very specialized channels that show several other artists concerts as well, yet I wouldn't say that it means their popularity is on the rise too.