^this
I always thought it was so awesome that Namie came back at 30 and like...kicked the charts in the butt haha.
But you're absolutely right, even if Ayu has lost popularity or whatever, she wouldn't still have #1 singles and albums every year.
Ayu was extremely popular during her prime and then maintained that popularity. Namie was extremely popular during her prime, lost her fanbase, reinvented the music she wanted to do, and then came back and became really popular again.
It's just interesting and....awesome? lol, yeah it's definitely awesome