The American pop rock band from Los Angeles, Maroon 5 Made our Artist of this Week

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Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist Sam Farrar. Original members Levine, Carmichael, Madden and drummer Ryan Dusick first came together as Kara’s Flowers in 1994, while they were still in high school. After self-releasing their independent album We like Digging? The band signed to Reprise Records and released their only album The Fourth World in 1997. The album garnered a tepid response, after which the record label dropped the band and the 2002–2006: Songs About Jane and Dusick’s departure.

Between the time the band started making the album [Songs About Jane] in 2001 and the time the album reached the crest of its success in 2004, they went from being starving musicians wondering what the future held to riding a wave of success beyond their wildest expectations.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Dusick, Maroon 5’s original drummer, officially left the band in 2006 due to injuries to his shoulders and wrists sustained from constant touring.

 MOVES LIKE JAGGER FT CHRISTINA AGUILERA

“Moves like Jagger” is a song by American band Maroon 5 featuring singer Christina Aguilera. It was released by A&M Octone Records on June 21, 2011, as the fourth and final single from the re-release of the group’s third studio album Hands All Over (2010). The song was written by Adam Levine, Ammar Malik, Benjamin Levin, and Shellback; the latter two are also the producers. “Moves like Jagger” is a dance-pop and electro pop song and is backed by synths and electronic drums. The lyrics refer to a male’s ability to impress a love interest with his dance moves, which he compares to those of Mick Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones.

“Moves like Jagger” was well received by music critics, who praised the song’s chorus. Praise also went to the vocals of Levine and Aguilera, with critics pointing out solid chemistry between the two. Likewise, the song was a commercial success, going on to top the charts in over 18 countries. In the United States, “Moves like Jagger” became the band’s second (after 2007’s “Makes Me Wonder”) best-selling singles of all time.  “Moves like Jagger” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards but lost to “Body and Soul” by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse. The song was first performed in June 2011 on an episode of The Voice (where Levine and Aguilera both served as coaches).

MUSICAL STYLE AND INFLUENCES

“I think the classic Maroon 5 song is minor, and it has some funk, Nile Rodgers-style guitar and the lyrics are probably about getting your heart broken. So minor, funk and heartbreak — that’s the Maroon 5 formula.”

The band has cited, Michael Jackson, The Police, the Bee Gees, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Tonic, Prince and Marvin Gaye as influences. Furthermore, guitarist James Valentine said he was influenced by guitarists like Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and John Scofield, as well as the rock band Queens of the Stone Age. The band’s style changes from album to album. Songs About Jane consists of songs about Levine’s ex-girlfriend Jane Herman. On It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, however, the songs are less personal and are more electric with more use of synthesizers, creating a retro feel. Hands All Over continues the band’s lost love theme, along with songs about infatuation and was re-released in 2011, with the hit single “Moves like Jagger”, an electropop song which represents a drastic change in the band’s sound, with more of a dance feel to it. “It was one of those songs that was definitely a risk,” Levine said. “It’s a bold statement. We’ve never really released a song like that. But it’s exciting to do something different, do something new. I’m just glad that everyone likes it.”

 PAYPHONE FT WIZ-KHALIFA

“Payphone” is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5 featuring American rapper Wiz Khalifa. The song was released on April 16, 2012, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Overexposed (2012). The song was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, Ammar Malik, Robopop, Shellback, and Khalifa, and produced by Blanco and Shellback. The song is a pop ballad and describes a romance that ended abruptly. It has received favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the catchy melody and named it “a radio success”, but some others dismissed its title and Khalifa’s appearance.

The official music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, finds Levine taking down some bank robbers and attempting to become the “hero” in a hail of bullets as he makes his escape, steals a gun from a robber, and then gets mistaken for one. Because of this, he must escape from a fleet of policemen, which he does with ease. The video was positively received from critics, who considered it an enjoyable mini-action film. On July 9, 2012, the song was named Song of the Summer for 2012 by Idolator.

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at the number three spot before peaking at number two. The song sold 493,000 copies in its first week, becoming the best sales week for a digital song by a group and also the eleventh-best sales week overall. It peaked at number one in Canada for eight consecutive weeks. It also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, making it the band’s first-ever single to do so. “Payphone” was the world’s fifth best-selling single of 2012 with 9.5 million copies sold.

 GIRLS LIKE YOU

“Girls Like You” was revealed as the ninth track on Red Pill Blues via Apple Music. It was announced as the third official single from the album, following the song “Wait”.

“Girls Like You” debuted at number 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and ascended to number four following its first full week of tracking after the music video’s arrival. The single made the fourth-biggest jump (90 positions) in the Hot 100’s history, and became Maroon 5’s 14th and Cardi B’s sixth top-ten single overall.  After spending six weeks at number two behind Drake’s “In My Feelings”, “Girls Like You” reached number one on its 17th charting week, becoming Maroon 5’s fourth chart topper–their first since 2012. “Girls Like You” became the first pop song to lead the chart after the record run of 34 consecutive weeks that rap songs had ruled the Hot 100. Maroon 5 became the duo or group with the most Hot 100 number ones in the 2000s and 2010s. The fourth week atop the Hot 100 for the single made Cardi the female rapper with the most cumulative weeks top the chart, with eight weeks.

Maroon 5 scored its record-extending 13th number one on the Adult Top 40 radio airplay chart.  It also became the 10th song by a duo or group to top Radio Songs for at least 10 weeks since that chart.

 

ALBUMS & RECOGNITION & AWARDS

Maroon 5 have been the recipients of three Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, and three People’s Choice Awards, with four Billboard Music Awards, and five Teen Choice Awards. In 2004 World Music Awards, it won the award for “World’s Best New Group”.

Hands All Over, the band’s third studio album, which was released in September 2010, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 charts. In 2011, the album was re-released and supported by the single “Moves like Jagger”, a song featuring American singer Christina Aguilera. The song became the band’s second single to reach number one on the Hot 100 chart; it has sold over 14.4 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles worldwide. The band released their fourth studio album, Overexposed, in June 2012. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The first two singles from the album “Payphone” and “One More Night”, were both international hits and peaked at two and one on the Hot 100 chart respectively.  “One More Night”, managed to beat Psy’s “Gangnam Style” by reaching number one on Billboard Hot 100.

Maroon 5 ranked 15 on Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) “Top Artists – Digital Singles” list, with certified sales of 15 million in the United States. In 2013, Maroon 5 became the third most-played artist on Top 40 Mainstream radio, based on Clear Channel owned Media base, becoming one of the most successful acts of Interscope Records.[181] On September 10, 2014, their fifth studio album, V, debuted at top of the weekly Billboard 200 chart with 164,000 copies sold within the first week.

In 2013, Maroon 5 ranked as the 94th best artist of all time based on Top 100 Artists of All Time at Billboard Hot 100 55th Anniversary.

In August 2018, the band was ranked 37th and 11th on Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Greatest of All Time Hot 100 and on Billboard’s “The Top 60 Groups Of All Time” respectively.

CONCLUSION

Well, amongst other philanthropic demonstrations by the American pop rock band, In 2006, Maroon 5 were awarded an Environmental Media Award, due to donating their 2005 North American tour income to a global environment organization, called “Global Cool”.

In 2011, Maroon 5 (along with PJ Morton, who was the band’s touring member at the time) took part in a project named “24 Hour Session” with Coca-Cola. The band wrote and recorded the song “Is Anybody Out There?” in 24 hours. After the project ended, the track was made available on the Coca-Cola website. It was also announced that if the song would be downloaded more than 100,000 times, the band will donate to Africa for clean water.

On June 25, 2016, Maroon 5 partnered with UNICEF to launch #Maroon5Day to mark the 14th anniversary of the release of their first album Songs About Jane. Fans were encouraged to donate to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.  It was announced that Maroon 5 will match up to $25,000 in donations to help children in need.

THIS LOVE

The song’s lyrics are based on Levine’s break-up with an ex-girlfriend. He revealed that the song was written in the “most emotionally trying time” in his life.  He has also described that the lyrics of this song as being extremely erotic. “This Love” was critically acclaimed by music critics, who noted the track’s musicscape. It was released on January 27, 2004, as the second single from Songs About Jane.

The song entered the top ten on most charts, topping several of Billboard magazine’s component charts, including reaching the number one spot on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. The music video was met with controversy, regarding extended intimate scenes between Levine and his then-girlfriend. “This Love” helped Maroon 5 win the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist and was the third most played song of 2004. The live version of the song won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2006 Grammy Awards, and, to date, is one of Maroon 5’s most successful songs.

“This Love” entered the top ten on most charts, topping several of Billboard magazine’s component charts, including reaching the number one spot on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart.  “This Love” helped Maroon 5 win the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist and was the third most played song of 2004.