I really enjoy her solo stuff, and I always felt the "she's trying to be a pop star" criticism was disingenuous. Sure, the first album back in 1998 was a huge swing (and a miss) to become a radio pop star. But since then, it has always looked to me that she's writing/recording the music that makes her happy. Sure she wants it to be successful, but I never got the impression that she went in to record "Here" and "I Stand" and consciously thought "These songs will do GREAT on top 40 radio!"
"I shall stay until the wind changes."