Is the "same old sound" the real reason of Ayu's declining sales?

[voltron]

All of this has been discussed to death, and will continue to be until the end of time probably. And that won't stop me from repeating what I've said many times before.

I think there are both conscious and unconscious reasons for "abandoning" Ayu. Certainly the things you listed above are a factor for some people, especially the general public/casual fans. She's not the same Ayu as before, and she has gotten older.

Then there's the unconscious level. And this is maybe my own theory on things, but Ayu was the voice of the "lost generation" in Japan. People always connected to her on this really personal level for her lyrics, her attitude, etc. During her prime, Ayu was a "bad Japanese woman" because she broke out of the mold in so many ways, and that was exactly what the general public was feeling and wanting during that time. Now, those people have all grown and settled into the more "expected" roles they play in life, and the current younger generation in Japan is really much more insular than the previous. Now Ayu's actions and behaviors as a "bad Japanese woman" are something to insult her for, it's not something they want to see in a Japanese popstar. I also contribute this to Namie's success - despite the bumpy rode she faced earlier in her career, but scrubbing her private personality from things (like, literally having her tattoos removed), she became this aspirational image of a cute, beautiful, talented, hard-working Japanese woman. And all of those things are certainly true, but it's a very specific image that she's portraying, and exactly what the general public want.

As for overseas fans, that's a different story altogether. But I also honestly feel like if she was blowing things out of the water in Japan a lot of her foreign fans would fall in line too.