American pop band Maroon 5 has emerged as one of the most popular in our times. Consisting of vocalist Adam Levine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboard player and guitarist Jesse Carmichael, keyboardist PJ Morgan, lead guitarist James Valentine, and bassist and multi-instrumentalist Mickey Madden, Maroon 5 has produced numerous hits over the years. The band is one of the world’s best-selling artists with an album sale crossing 135 million.
Formation
The original line-up of Maroon 5 consisted of Levine, Madden, Carmichael, and Madden who met in school in Los Angeles in 1994 and called themselves Kara’s Flowers which was a rock band. They were discovered at a Malibu beach party and soon signed a deal with Reprise records for their debut album. The album was called ‘The Fourth World’ and resonated with the sound of Britpop from the 60s. They went their separate ways for college but soon reunited in 2000. After several failures and rejection, the band was noticed by Octane Records. The fifth member, Valentine was then recruited and thus started a journey that would go on to this day.
Songs About Jane
The band opened for John Mayer in one of his tours in 2003. The album opened with rave reviews especially the songs ‘This Love’ and ‘Harder to Breath’, and more. It went on to peak at Top 20 un the Billboard 200 charts. The album sold 10 million copies worldwide. The success is mostly given to the change in their sound from post-grunge roots to that of a more relatable pop-soul. Another song from the album that became a huge hit was ‘She Will Be Loved’ with the album and its singles topic chats in multiple countries. They toured extensively around this time that got him exposure and share the stage with some of the virtuosos of the industry.
It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
The album hit the stands after 8 months of recording and was released by A&M Octone Records. The album shows influences from the 80s scene and more specifically of artists such as Prince and Michael Jackson. The song from the album, ‘Make Me Wonder’ was already topping the charts. Other songs included ‘Wake Up Call’, ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’, and more. In May 2008, they collaborated with Rihanna for a new version of their single, ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’.
Hands All Over
Their 3rd studio album began recording in 2009 under the production guidance of Robert John Lange. The record was released in September 2010 and debuted at number 2 on Billboard 200. The songs from the album included ‘Misery’, ‘Never Gonna Leave This Bed’, and ‘Is Anybody Out There’.
The band re-released ‘Hands All Over’ in July 2011 with one extra addition. The track, ‘Move Like Jagger’ in collaboration with Christina Aguilera made waves and topped Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, Levine featured in the song ‘Stereo Hearts’ by Gym Glass Heroes. The band performed at the 54th Grammys with the Beach Boys and Foster the People. The band also made a song called ‘Come Away to the Water’ with Rozzi Crane for the soundtrack of The Hunger Games.
Overexposed
Their poppiest album, ‘Overexposed’ came out on June 26, 2012. The first single from the album in association with ‘Wiz Khalifa’ was called ‘Payphone’ and debuted at number 3 on Billboard 100. The third single from the album was ‘Daylight’ with a music video that included video clips of fans in the official music video. ‘Love Somebody’ was the final single from the album.
V
The fifth album of the band consisted of songs such as ‘Map’ and ‘Animals’. According to the band, their sound had evolved into a more mature resonance by that time. It received mixed reviews although it reached number 1 on Billboard. The third single was ‘Sugar’ with a captivating music video where the band traveled around Los Angeles performing at weddings randomly. Levine also sang the track ‘Lost Stars’ from the movie Begin Again. The deluxe edition of the same album released the song ‘This Summer’. They released ‘Singles’ in 2015, a greatest hits album containing 12 songs.
Red Pill Blues
After receiving the Decade Award at 2017’s Teen Choice Awards, they announced the upcoming release of their 6th Studio Album called ‘Red Pill Blues’ which was eventually released on November 3 and went on to peak at number 2 on Billboard 200. The songs included ‘Cold’, ‘Don’t Wanna Know’, ‘Wait’, and ‘What Lovers Do’. They also came out with a remixed version of their hit song, ‘Girls Like You’ which also features Cardi B.
Jordi
The band came out with the song ‘Memories’ in September 2019. Then they came out with the track, ‘Nobody’s Love’ the following year. Their next single was with Megan Thee Stallion for the song, ‘Beautiful Mistakes’ which came out in March 2021. Their seventh studio album, ‘Jordi’ was released in June 2021 with the aforementioned songs.
Musical Style
Their style can be attributed as pop-rock or pop with influences of R&B, neo-soul, and soft rock. Some of their artist influences include The Beatles, Oasis, Michael Jackson, The Police, Tupac Shakur, Prince, and Marvin Gaye. Each of their albums comes with a new style that differs in terms of production and basics. However, most of their songs heavily resonate with the idea and styles of pop with an edge of contemporary flavors.
Awards
Maroon 5 has received 3 Grammy Awards, three People’s Choice Awards, three AMAs, eight Billboard Music Awards, and five Teen Choice Awards. They have also been named as ‘World’s Best new Group’ by World Music Awards in 2004.
Listen to all tracks click on the given below link:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/04gDigrS5kc9YWfZHwBETP