^^Really? I think the article just barely touches on those two artists and only mentions Namie's "enduring popularity" and Ayu's "royalty status." That doesn't seem to put them in such a bad light 0_o Yes it does mention the fact that Utada "leapfrogged" Amuro...but that's not like saying "Oh, Hikki rocks, Namie sux"...its just saying that by being a female artist who pioneered the R&B style in Japan, she was influenced by the whole urban scene she grew up in...and people found it very new and interesting.
This is an opinion piece so of course there will be a certain amount of bias...but it does make very valid points.