I think iHype.'s point was that Adele and Robin Thicke (likewise for Gotye, Kesha, Macklemore etc.) weren't huge names in pop music until they had their repsective smashes. It is indeed a trend for random and unexpected acts to be the ones racking up monster hits in the past few years.
Of course they weren't completely unknown. Nobody is discrediting their past achievments, but let's not act like they're A-list, or even B-list or C-list...
before they got that monster hit.