Interesting topic, though all the Hikki hate makes me so sad.
I personally like her way of releasing singles. Since I became a fan her first single I downloaded was Boku wa Kuma and then Flavor Of Life came somewhere... beginning of 2007 I think.
Then I had to wait for months for her next single and it was fun. ^_____^ I'm pretty much used to this. I don't care how much time she takes in order to make amazing music for me.
And about the artists I lost my interest more or less.
sifow, I used to listen to her music so much in 2007. After she went on hiatus I haven't been able to listen even one song. I still love her songs quite a lot, but I really can't stand listening to some of her songs these days. It's sad. :/
Ayumi Hamasaki, yes I still enjoy her music, and I'm interested in her again only because her new album sounds pretty interesting. But as a whole I'm not a crazy fan. Though I listened to her quite a lot in 2007 and in autumn/winter 2009, I still find myself getting bored with her songs easily. But I still respect her quite a lot, and I mostly care about her lyrics more than music itself. But as a whole I believe she will never become my top favourite artist again as I'm obsessed with Kuu and other R&B/pop artists more. :3 I also have to confess that I still haven't watched AT09 and CDL09-10 because I just don't have enough energy to do so. I want to watch both of them but I just don't have enough energy. -.- I'm complicated. Sometimes I get this strange Ayu fandom thingy for 1-3 days and then it suddenly dies. I even deleted most of her discography from my computer.
By the way, many people here have mentioned how they lost their interest in Ai Otsuka and BoA, I personally have fallen in love with both of them.