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| Birth Name(s) : Maroon 5 |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Full Maroon 5 Biography
Maroon 5 is a soul-influenced American band originating from Los Angeles, California. Comprising five members: Adam Levine (lead vocals, guitar), James Valentine (guitar, backing vocals), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, backing vocals), Mickey Madden (bass guitar) and Matt Flynn (drums), the band is best known for hit songs including "Harder to Breathe", "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved".
Maroon 5 has won several awards for its debut album Songs About Jane. Released in June 2002, the album enjoyed major chart success, going gold, platinum, and triple platinum in many countries around the world. In support of Songs About Jane, Maroon 5 toured extensively throughout 2003 – 2005, in which a live album was released, entitled Live - Friday the 13th. Original member Ryan Dusick left the band in September 2006, due to injuries sustained by the constant touring, and was replaced by Matt Flynn.
After a hiatus from the music scene, Maroon 5 released their second studio album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long in May 2007, five years after Songs About Jane. The second set debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of nearly half a million. The band performed in various performances throughout the summer of 2007, in support of the album, and will be touring North America in Fall 2007 with The Hives as openers.
The band signed with Reprise Records while still in high school and released its only album The Fourth World in the middle of 1997, just as three of the four members were about to graduate (Ryan Dusick was completing his sophomore year at UCLA). A video was made for the opening track "Soap Disco", but it did not find success. Despite support slots on tours with Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, the album failed to take off commercially and, in 1999, the band parted company with Reprise Records.
The four attended different colleges across the United States, experiences that would greatly influence the style and sound of Maroon 5. The four original members of Kara's Flowers remained in touch and started playing together again in 2001. Jesse Carmichael switched from guitar to keyboards, so a need arose for an additional guitarist. James Valentine, formerly with the band Square, joined them to fill that void.
When Valentine joined Kara's Flowers in 2001, the band adopted the name Maroon 5. The band played showcase gigs in New York City and Los Angeles. Levine credited the interim period with influencing the band's new style stating:“During the time between our record deals, I spent a lot of time in New York where I was exposed to an urban and hip-hop culture in a way that had never happened to me in L.A. It turned me on to an entirely new genre of music which has had a profound impact on my songwriting.”
Maroon 5 also played Live 8 in Philadelphia in 2005. Their set included a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" and frontman Levine performed with one of his heroes, and the closing act, Stevie Wonder. On May 13, 2005, in Santa Barbara, California, the band wrapped up the Honda Civic Tour, which they headlined.
To support the album, the band performed on a "six-date club tour" in which they visited small venues in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, and New York City in early June 2007. They followed with a concert that streamed live via MSN Music in mid-June. Then, on July 9, the band announced plans for their 2007 It Won't Be Soon Before Long world tour set to begin September 29 in Detroit and conclude November 10 in Las Vegas. The Hives, as the tour's special guest, will be performing on all of the dates while Sara Bareilles, Kevin Michael, and Phantom Planet will each be performing in a portion of the tour. On July 10, they opened for The Police, in Miami, and followed with an acoustic performance at the Miami club, Studio A, the next day.
In the song "Harder to Breathe", parts of the lyrics could be interpreted by some as misogynistic. After accusing his lover of being "condescending and unnecessarily critical", Levine sings, "I have a tendency of getting very physical/So watch your step, 'cause if I do you'll need a miracle." Although the lyrics seem to imply that he will physically strike the woman to whom he is speaking, Levine has said that the song was written in response to the record company pressuring the band into writing more material, because none of the tracks were a single.
More steamy scenes appeared in the video for "She Will Be Loved", which featured a love triangle and sexual imagery involving Levine and actress Kelly Preston, the wife of actor John Travolta. The video for "Wake Up Call" also contains such material and also presented as a trailer for a fictional NC-17 rated movie.
Neither Songs About Jane nor It Won't Be Soon Before Long bears a Parental Advisory label, in spite of the strong language and explicit nature of lines in the singles "Harder to Breathe" and "Makes Me Wonder" respectively.
2006
- Grammy Award — Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "This Love" (Live - Friday the 13th version) |
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