^ That may very well be, it just hasn't been my experience. And it's not a dig at Namie at all -- pop singers are very rarely really respected, which has nothing to do with commercial success. You always hear much more critical acclaim for indie acts, or more musically inclined acts like a MISIA or Mika Nakashima (who are far less popular and successful, even if they are successful in their own rights).
This is an old article, and I cringe to post it because it's Namie vs. Ayu, which is neither here nor there for this conversation, but I think the comments they quoted/translated are very much in line with what I more typically hear about Namie:
http://aramajapan.com/featured/what-...in-2015/21611/
Cute, pretty, makes fun songs, distant, etc. Those are the most common descriptors of Namie. What you hear less often are things like talented, creative, enduring, strong vocals, etc. I'm not saying she doesn't have any of those things, but that is what I mean when I say respected. I don't think the industry or the general public
respect her as much as they
like her.