Adam Noah Levine (born March 18, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor.[4] He is the lead vocalist for pop rock band Maroon 5.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Levine began his musical career in 1994, when he co-founded the alternative rock bandKara's Flowers, of which he was the lead vocalist and guitarist. The band split up after their only album, The Fourth World (released in 1997), which did not gain popularity. In 2001, the group was reformed – with guitarist James Valentine joining the line-up – and began a new musical chapter, changing their name to Maroon 5. In 2002, the band released their first album, Songs About Jane, which went multi-platinum in the US. Since then, they have released four more albums, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), Hands All Over (2010), Overexposed (2012) and V (2014). As part of Maroon 5, Levine has received three Grammy Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and a World Music Award.
Since 2011, Levine has served as a coach on NBC's reality talent show The Voice. The winners of the first, fifth and ninth seasons,Javier Colon, Tessanne Chin and Jordan Smith, were on his team. In 2012, he made his acting debut as a recurring character in the horror television show American Horror Story: Asylum for the series' second season. He also starred in the film Begin Again.
As an entrepreneur, Levine launched his own eponymous fragrance line in 2013. The same year, he collaborated with K-Mart and ShopYourWay.com to develop his menswear collection. He also owns a record label, 222 Records. In 2013, The Hollywood Reporterreported that "sources familiar with his many business dealings" estimated Levine would earn more than $35 million that year.[5]
Early life[edit]
Adam Noah Levine[6] was born in Los Angeles on March 18, 1979[7] to Fred Levine, the founder of retail chain M. Fredric, and Patsy (née Noah) Levine, an admissions counselor.[5][8] He has two uncles, journalist and author Timothy Noah and television producer and writer Peter Noah.[9][10] He is also the nephew of economist Jordan Levine.[11]He has two brothers, Michael and Sam.[12] Levine's parents divorced when he was seven. Growing up, he spent weekdays with his mother and weekends with his father.[13] He underwent therapy for his parents' divorce, but called it a "waste of time" explaining that his parents could not "accept the fact that I might have been OK with it. I cried my eyes out and kicked and screamed and said, 'Why?' and all the things you do when you find out. A few days later I was fine but I still had to go to therapy."[14]
Levine describes his family as "very musical"[15] and credits his mother with "start[ing] me out on the path".[16] He also attributes his mother's idols – Simon & Garfunkel,Fleetwood Mac and, most notably, The Beatles – to shaping his musical style, calling them "a huge part of my upbringing".[13] He attended Brentwood School, where he metJesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden, his future bandmates.[17] He carried his musical interests to high school, where he states he was "a little rebellious. I didn't want to do the things they were teaching me ... [music] consumed my every thought."[15]
Levine used hallucinogenic drugs in his adolescence. In an interview with Q, he said that using mushrooms "really forced me to look at myself" but added that he had never abused drugs.[18][19] On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he stated that he stopped using prescription drugs after his first experience with prescription drug Ambien, which left him unconscious for an hour.[20]
Levine's father and maternal grandfather are Jewish,[13] while his maternal grandmother was Protestant.[21] Levine considers himself Jewish,[22] though according to an interview with The Jewish Chronicle, he "has rejected formal religious practice for a more generalized, spiritual way of life". He chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah as a child, explaining: "I felt as though a lot of kids were trying to cash in ... I just don't think it's the most respectful way to deal with God and beliefs and years and years and years of cultural heritage."[13]
Maroon 5 and mainstream success[edit]
Main article: Maroon 5
After the break up of Kara's Flowers, Levine, along with Carmichael, left Los Angeles to pursue further studies in New York.[24] On MTV News, in 2002, he said: "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip-hop, R&B thing. We had friends named Chaos and Shit. It was not Brentwood High".[32] After dropping out of Five Towns College, in Dix Hills,Long Island, New York, where he and Jesse Carmichael spent a semester,[33] they reunited with Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick to form a band once more.[34] They experimented with several styles, including country and folk, before deciding groove-based music would become their genre.[17] Levine explained the need for a makeover for the band: "We were just so sick of being a typical rock 'n'roll band ... I felt like I needed to look elsewhere for vocal inspiration."[24] The band put together a demo that was rejected by several labels, before falling into the hands of Octone Records executives James Diener, Ben Berkman, and David Boxenbaum.[30] Following Berkman's advice, the band added a fifth member, James Valentine, and was renamed Maroon 5. In an interview with HitQuarters, Berkman explained that Levine "seemed to be a very shy, shoe-gazing type ... a fifth member could play the guitar to free up the singer [Levine], so he could be the star I perceived him to be".[27]
Around this time, Levine had been working as a writer's assistant on the CBS television show Judging Amy, whose producer Barbara Hall was his family friend.[5] While on the show, he would spend time writing songs about his ex-girlfriend Jane. These songs were put into Maroon 5's debut album Songs About Jane, which was released in June 2002. The album slowly gained airplay, and eventually became a sleeper hit, selling an estimated 10 million copies[35] and becoming the tenth best-selling album of 2004, two years after its release.[36] In 2005, Maroon 5 won their first Grammy Award, for Best New Artist.[37] The next year, they won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the second Songs About Jane single "This Love".[38]
By 2006, the band started recording once again, and in May 2007, Maroon 5's second album It Won't Be Soon Before Long was released. Levine described the album as "a vast improvement", explaining: "I think this record is a little more self-confident and powerful lyrically".[39]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.[40] The album and its lead, third and penultimate singles ("Makes Me Wonder", "Won't Go Home Without You" and "If I Never See Your Face Again", respectively) each received Grammy nominations, although only "Makes Me Wonder" secured a win.[41][42]
After winding down from a world tour in support It Won't Be Soon Before Long, the band began recording in Switzerland in 2009, in collaboration with record producer and songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Levine said Lange "worked me harder than anyone ever has".[43] In 2010, Maroon 5 released their third studio album, Hands All Over. The album did not initially meet expectations. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Levine explained that the album suffered from being "all these disparate ideas and songs that didn't make any sense together".[44] After the moderate success of the album's first three singles, the band released "Moves like Jagger" which Levine classified as "one of those songs that was definitely a risk; it's a bold statement".[45] The single became a success worldwide; it was the ninth-best-selling digital single of 2011 with sales of 8.5 million copies and, as of 2012, the eighth-best-selling digital single of all time. Levine later credited the song with "totally reviving the band".[44]
Since "Moves Like Jagger" was the first time Maroon 5 had collaborated with an outside writer, the band decided to attempt it again on their next album, entitled Overexposed.[46] Its title is supposedly an allusion to Levine's public ubiquity. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he opined that is their most dance-driven album ever, commenting: "It's very much an old-fashioned disco tune. I have a love/hate relationship with it - but mostly I love it".[47] The album and its lead single "Payphone" gave Maroon 5 their second Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominations.[42] In support of Overexposed, the band conducted theOverexposed Tour from 2012–13 (with the European leg extending to 2014 due to scheduling conflicts),[48] and also headlined the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, which included The Voice contestant Tony Lucca.[49]
Over 2014, Maroon 5 continued their collaboration with Ryan Tedder, Max Martin and others to release their fifth studio album, entitled V. Levine acknowledged that they followed the same song-writing process that they tried with Overexposed, saying: "We developed a really nice system on the last record — we found songs we were passionate about, developed them and put our stamp on them [...] this time we kept it going but looked for different types of songs."[50] Five singles were released from it. In support of the album, the band undertook the Maroon 5 World Tour 2015, which kicked off with a show in Dallas in February 2015.[51]
In 2007, Levine had stated that he believed Maroon 5 was reaching its peak and might make one more album before disbanding.[52] He was quoted explaining: "Eventually I want to focus on being a completely different person because I don't know if I want to do this into my 40s and 50s and beyond". But in 2010, he dispelled any rumors of the band breaking up, saying:"I love what I do and think that, yes, it might be tiring and complicated at times [but] we don't have any plans on disbanding any time soon".[53] He has also turned down the idea of having a solo career, stating that "there will never be a solo record. I would sooner have another band".[54]
Other work[edit]
Musical collaborations[edit]
Levine has collaborated with several musical artists. In 2005, he was featured on the song "Live Again" by hip-hop duo Ying Yang Twins.[55] The same year, he appeared on Kanye West's album Late Registration, on the third single, "Heard 'Em Say",[56] a collaboration Levine called "very pure and very easy". The song was created during an airplane flight that he and West shared,[57]and its refrain was later used for the Maroon 5 song "Nothing Lasts Forever" from It Won't Be Soon Before Long. He also appeared on Alicia Keys' third album Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged, as part of the cover of The Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses".[58] Around the same time, he featured on fellow Octone Records singer K'naan's single "Bang Bang". In 2009, he recorded "Gotten", a song forSlash's first solo album Slash (2010).[59] In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World", called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".[60] In 2011, he appeared on the Gym Class Heroes song, "Stereo Hearts". He also worked with hip-hop artist 50 Cent on his song "My Life", recording the vocals almost two years before it was released as a single in 2012, which included rapper Eminem.[61] He is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will Be Loved" in the music rhythm game, Band Hero.[62] In 2015, Adam Levine was featured on duo, R. City's, single, "Locked Away".
Artistry[edit]
Levine's interest in music started at around ten years of age, when he first started playing the guitar. He found music as an outlet for his feelings, stating: "I picked up a guitar and that was it. I fell so madly in love with it, it's all I did".[15] He performed his first professional gig at The Troubadour when he was twelve, but was so nervous he played with his back to the audience.[5][103] Throughout his childhood, he had a wide range of musical influences, including The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Nirvana, and, in high school, by Bob Marley, Bill Withers, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye[104] and Michael Jackson.[105] He has also incorporated elements of The Police and Prince into his music.[106] In an interview with Billboard, he explained the diversity of his influences: "I love every single kind of music ... even the most saccharine, sugary pop song can be the greatest thing ever. But so can a 25-minute crazy avant-garde fusion gnarly Herbie Hancock jam from the '70s".[107]
Levine remembers that listening to "Are You That Somebody?" by Aaliyah convinced him to pursue a more soulful sound than that of the band he was performing with at the time, Kara's Flowers.[26] His move to New York introduced him to a new music scene that involved hip-hop, R&B,gospel and soul music.[32] He took to changing his musical style, extensively emulating Stevie Wonder.[106] Subsequently, Songs About Janewas released, deemed "bluesy funk"[108] and similar to the sound of English pop rock band Busted.[109] Critics also drew comparisons between Levine and Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay.[110]
While earlier work was deemed "vaguely funky white-soul"[110] and "rock", recent ones have been judged to have a more reggae, anthemic pop sound,[111] evoking comparisons to Coldplay.[112] Levine refuses to fit his music into a genre, saying: "There's so much variety in music, it's silly to belong to a specific club and try to sound a certain way".[106] He considers himself an orthodox lyricist sticking to conventional themes, acknowledging: "Romance, love, the lack thereof are still very big themes. I haven't figured out a way to use everything yet. As a songwriter, I'm still limited to that one thing."[26] He also claims he does not like mincing words, stating in a Rolling Stoneinterview: "I was so sick of typical lyrics like 'Ooh, baby' and 'I love you' and all this vague shit. I thought the more explicit I got without being totally explicit was a nice approach".[32]
Levine is tenor, he has a 3 and a half octave vocal range[113][114] and has been noted for his falsettos.[115] Salon wrote: "When he’s crooning come-ons, his voice lends the music a satisfying lewdness, a sense of sticky physicality that gives his snaky hooks a pheromonal urgency."[116] In a review of It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Entertainment Weeklydescribed his vocals as "smug, R&B-slick deadpan ... there's a twisted logic to his dispassionate delivery".[117] In another review, Allmusic noted that "he knows that he's a pop guy, somewhat in the tradition of Hall & Oates, but he isn't trying to be retro, he's ... making records that are melodic, stylish, and soulful".[118] In a review of the 2013 Honda Civic Tour, The Boston Globe also commented positively on his on-stage presence, which "exude[s] a sense of up-for-anything playfulness ... combined with a rock solid work ethic and a clear love for their audiences and performing".[119]
Levine's popularity outside of his musical work has seen him tagged as a "stand-alone star",[120] which critics say have pushed other members of Maroon 5 to the backseat, even in their music.[121] Their guitarist Valentine noted that his vocals were a central aspect around which their music revolved.[122] Conversely, others opine that Levine's fame has been a boost to the band, with Paper writing: "Maroon 5 has managed to ebb and flow with the times ... thanks in no small part to their frontman's uncanny ability to be extremely entertaining".[123] Delta Sky described him as "a natural, if slightly neurotic, leading man".[124] He claims that the image was consciously cultivated, explaining: "We talked about it a long time ago and decided I would step out, for us, not for me or my own ego ... We wanted there to be a frontman".[54]
Personal life[edit]
In early 2010, while performing at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas, Levine met Russian Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover-model Anne Vyalitsyna. They began a relationship[125] which ended in April 2012.[126]
Levine began dating Namibian Victoria's Secret model Behati Prinsloo in May 2012.[127][128] They got married in July 2014. Prinsloo gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, in September 2016.[129]
Levine practices yoga under instructor Chad Dennis and has stated that "yoga will drastically improve you in every way imaginable".[130] He began the practice as a way to relieve his back pain and eventually replaced his weightlifting with yoga.[130]
Levine, whose brother openly identifies as gay, is an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights.[131] In 2011, he made a video[132] on Maroon 5's official YouTube account in support of the It Gets Better Project. In January 2012, he announced that Maroon 5 had changed the location of their post-Grammy Awards show because of the "unnamed Los Angeles restaurant's backing of Proposition 8".[131]
In 2013, Levine was mentioned in a hostile work environment lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by an unnamed security guard who claimed that Universal Music Publishing Group's Santa Monica location was "infiltrated with pervasive drug use where you could smell marijuana seeping from various offices and openly used in common areas, and lounges". The guard claimed that when she complained about the cannabis smoke coming from one of the studios, she was told that "it's Adam Levine ... if he wants to come to the lobby and do a line of cocaine on the floor, it's OK". In an official statement to The Hollywood Reporter, UMPG described the allegations as "absurd".[133][134]
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