AnyBlogDotCom: A Quick Look At Maroon 5

Maroon 5 are one of the best selling acts in the world, and other being aware of the name, I had no idea who they were, so I was surprised to read they had sold out Wembley for two nights. I see them described on Wikipedia as pop-rock, but I'm not seeing them as an Aerosmith type band. They are very pop orientated. More pop focus even than Coldplay (and they seem to have some sounds in common with that band). This is a pop band - more like a pop band than a rock band. Could even be a boy band with that name.

Anyway, I have learned that they are the band who did Just Like Jagger (a proper pop song if evert there was one!), so I have got some idea of who they are, but I want to learn a bit more, so I'm doing a quick look.

Wikipedia:

Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California.[3][4] It consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton, and bassist and keyboardist Sam Farrar. Original members Levine, Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick first came together as Kara's Flowers in February 1994, while they were in high school.

After self-releasing their independent album ...We Like Digging?, Kara's Flowers signed to Reprise Records and released their debut studio album, The Fourth World (1997). It garnered a tepid response, after which the record label dropped the band and the members focused on college. In 2001, the band re-emerged as Maroon 5, adding guitarist Valentine. Signed to Octone Records, they released their first album as Maroon 5, titled Songs About Jane (2002). Aided by the hit singles "Harder to Breathe", "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved", the album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart and went quadruple platinum in 2005. In the same year, the band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. In 2006, Dusick left the band after suffering from serious wrist and shoulder injuries and was replaced by Flynn. Maroon 5's second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart; its lead single, "Makes Me Wonder", topped the US Billboard Hot 100.

The band's critically acclaimed third album, Hands All Over (2010), was re-released in 2011 with the US number-one "Moves Like Jagger". In 2012, Carmichael took a break from the band and was replaced by keyboardist Morton. Maroon 5's fourth album Overexposed (2012), spawned the single "One More Night", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks. In 2014, Carmichael rejoined the band alongside Morton to record the fifth album V (roman numeral pronounced "five"), released on Interscope Records and Levine's own label 222 Records, and reaching number one on the Billboard 200. In 2016, Maroon 5 added long-time collaborator Farrar to their official lineup as the band continued for their sixth studio album Red Pill Blues (2017). V and Red Pill Blues's respective singles "Sugar" and "Girls Like You" peaked at numbers two and one in the US respectively.

Madden announced his departure from the band in 2020 following his arrest on domestic violence charges, with Farrar becoming their new bassist. Their following albums, Jordi (2021) and Love Is Like (2025), saw varying critical and commercial success. Maroon 5 has sold more than 135 million records, making them one of the best-selling music acts of all time. The band has won numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards and three American Music Awards.

AllMusic:

Los Angeles band whose idiosyncratic brand of distortion-fueled, danceable soul and pop topped the charts frequently.

With their polished blend of dance-rock and neo-soul, Maroon 5 and frontman Adam Levine navigate shifting trends in music and fashion to be one of the biggest pop bands of their generation. They took the long way to the top, evolving from the straight-ahead '90s rock band Kara's Flowers into the sleek, soulful Maroon 5 with 2002's Songs About Jane, an album that languished for two years until "This Love" climbed to number five on Billboard's Hot 100 in 2004. From that point forward, the group was a fixture at the top of the charts, their popularity receiving a considerable and enduring boost when Levine was cast as a judge on NBC's televised talent competition The Voice in 2011. That year, their Christina Aguilera duet "Moves Like Jagger" gave Maroon 5 their second number one -- "Makes Me Wonder" went to the top in 2007 -- and kicked off a string of Top Ten hits highlighted by the number ones "One More Night" and "Girls Like You," a run that helped secure the band a headlining Super Bowl gig in 2019. "Girls Like You" featured an appearance by Cardi B, a sign of how Maroon 5 kept current by embracing modern R&B and hip-hop. The band followed this blueprint by enlisting Megan Thee Stallion for "Beautiful Mistakes," a lead single from 2021's Jordi, as well as the 2021 Bantu remix of "One Light," and the 2023 single "Middle Ground." In 2025, they joined forces with BlackPink's LISA for "Priceless," heralding their eighth album, Love Is Like.

Albums

Songs About Jane (2002)

Debut album under the name Maroon 5. It sold very well. There is some rock music here, as well as a bit of funk, though mainly this is commercial pop with a solid eye on the melodies. It's well done.

Released	June 25, 2002
Recorded	Late 2001 - January 21, 2002
Studio	Rumbo (Los Angeles) Can-Am (Los Angeles)
Genre	Pop rock funk rock alternative rock
Length	46:06
Label	Octone J
Producer	Matt Wallace Mark Endert

All tracks are written by Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, except where noted.

*Songs About Jane* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Harder to Breathe"		2:53
2.	"This Love"		3:26
3.	"Shiver"		2:59
4.	"She Will Be Loved"	Levine James Valentine	4:17
5.	"Tangled"	Levine	3:18
6.	"The Sun"	Levine	4:11
7.	"Must Get Out"		3:59
8.	"Sunday Morning"		4:04
9.	"Secret"		4:55
10.	"Through with You"		3:01
11.	"Not Coming Home"	Levine Carmichael Ryan Dusick	4:21
12.	"Sweetest Goodbye"	Levine	4:30
Total length:			45:54