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She got old and overexposed.
Popstars have a somewhat short shelf life and if your career is long enough you will get to a point gerational shock where younger generations, who actually dictate whats big on the music industry will see you as an act for older people, and it's natural for younger people to try to distance themselves from the past generation.
This happened to Namie, people just like to pretend it didn't and she is retiring at a point she would soon get to there again. This also happened to Madonna twice and I believe it happened to Yumi Matsutoya twice aswell. This just didn't happen to Utada because she was on hiatus during most of the time the gerational shock would happen.
Ayu also worked non stop during the years her selling curve would naturally go down, aging in front of the public. People never really got the chance to miss her, so she most likely feels a lot older than people who is actually around for longer than her but weren't such a constant presence.
As trend changes, Ayu became the perfect anthitesis of everything the consumer of jpop wanted during the 2010's. In a decade people wanted less extravancy, more natural beauty and manufaturated idols, she was going around in painted hair and contacts, giving circus like concerts, singing about feelings.
On the same way, when the decade changed Namie didn't stand much a chance on a scenario that wanted reflexive singer-songwritters with big production "symbolic" pvs like Ayu or Hikki or Shiina Ringo.
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