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It's important to note that Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Britney and Madonna, all started somewhere. Beyonce's career started in 1990, it took years before Destiny's Child broke out. Years and years of hard work and promotion. Lady Gaga started her career in 2005 and has pretty much worked solidly since then performing in small clubs and bars to get to where she is. Madonna did the same thing in the early 80s. Britney was actually quite lucky out of them, with her career not really starting until 1997 with her breakout in 1998. While she was very lucky to have a great lead single, she did have to work very hard throughout 1999 and 2000 to maintain her status.
The point being these artists have worked extremely hard to cement their status in the music industry and keep their names out there.

Utada hasn't really had to do that. In Japan she was an instant success and has yet to make that kind of dent in the American music industry.
In the US, the industry thrives on availability and convenience. This means the music must be catchy and accessible and the artist must commit to promoting non-stop in as many different channels as possible. This means TV Appearances, performances, and touring.
When I say touring, I mean small venues to start; Bars and clubs, and being an opening act. Opening for someone is a great way to gain exposure and expand your audience.
It's great that Utada just toured but at this point, it wasn't really promotion. Chances are most people in attendance had her CDs.

As much as I love Utada (and I really do, I travelled over 2,000 miles to see her in NYC), she doesn't really deserve more from the US. She hasn't earned it here. Yes her music is great. But in the Pop Music Industry, there's a lot more involved in becoming a star.