My mother loves Ayu (well not exactly LOVE, but she recognizes her voice and listens to a CD I made for her...all upbeat songs, of course) but she loves Gackt more.
My friend asked a for a CD of Japanese music, and I put STEP you on track 1. She loved it, but not much else by Ayu. Most of the time I hear comments about her voice as well. C'mon, people, not everyone has to have a Mariah Carey/Soul-sister voice!