Perhaps because Amy was in the media for not only her music but for her personal issues as well unlike Adele, and "Rehab" was actually attached to what was going on in her personal life.

I've seen jokes and tweets regarding her death and the song "Rehab," and people always felt that it was ironic. Not to take anything away from Amy, but let's not pretend that she was well-known just because of her music. She's actually a rare case where someone becomes popular for personal issues and her music, simultaneously.

You guys are missing the point. Without Amy, there would be no Adele because she gave birth to her. I thought we all knew that.

I think her personal problems were covered after. It was the Fielder-Civil mess that kicked off her media frenzy. She DID get famous for her music, initially.

She was still a breakthrough artist, like Adele, but her name really catapulted in the media when it discovered her drug/drinking issues and that was not long after her first months of fame and acclaim. She went to rehab weeks before her Grammy sweep, and months before that, she was in the media for her drug issues. I'm not saying that her talent and music weren't the reason for her success, but for those who didn't know "Rehab" or Amy (because her album wasn't that big of a huge seller until after the Grammy sweep and "Rehab" peaked quickly on pop radio), she became a name once she was in the media for her personal issues. I won't sit up here and say Adele is a household name, but RITD is not the same situation as "Rehab" and Adele isn't quite in the media for reasons other than chart success; so far, she has a squeaky clean image. She has time to become a household name (without all the drama).