Maroon 5

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 the album The Fourth World in 1997. The album 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, pursuing a different direction and adding guitarist Valentine. The band signed with Octone Records, an independent record label with a separate joint venture relationship with J Records and released their debut album Songs About Jane in June 2002. Aided by its lead single, "Harder to Breathe", which received heavy airplay, the album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart, and went platinum in 2004. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005. In 2006, Dusick left the band after suffering from serious wrist and shoulder injuries and was replaced by Matt Flynn.

The band's second album It Won't Be Soon Before Long, was released in May 2007. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and the lead single "Makes Me Wonder", became the band's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2010, the band released the third album Hands All Over, to mixed reviews, re-releasing a year later to include the single "Moves like Jagger", which topped the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, Carmichael left the group and was replaced by musician PJ Morton, as the band released the fourth album Overexposed, with the song "One More Night", topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nine consecutive weeks.

In 2014, Carmichael rejoined the band alongside Morton to record the fifth album V (pronounced: "five"), with the band signed a new label, Interscope Records. Following the release of V, it reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2016, Maroon 5 recruited their long-time collaborator Sam Farrar, as the band continued for the sixth studio album Red Pill Blues, which was released in November 2017. For the addition of Morton and Farrar, which leading the band's lineup to seven official members. With the successful singles of both albums "Sugar" and "Girls Like You", are peaked at numbers two and one on the Hot 100 chart respectively. Maroon 5 has sold more than 120 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists.

1994–2001: Kara's Flowers and the formation of Maroon 5
Adam Levine was introduced to Ryan Dusick by a mutual friend and guitarist, Adam Salzman. Levine was 15 years old and Dusick was 16. Three of the five members of the band started playing together at age 12. The four original members of the band met while attending Brentwood School in Los Angeles. While attending Brentwood School, Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael joined up with Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick to form Kara's Flowers, a rock band. The name was taken from a girl that went to their high school that the band had a "collective crush" on. While they were playing a beach party in Malibu, independent producer Tommy Allen heard them play and offered to manage them and record a complete record with his partner, songwriter John DeNicola, who is known for his work on Dirty Dancing (1987) – including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Producer Rob Cavallo's management team heard the record Allen and DeNicola produced, which eventually led Cavallo to offer them a deal with Reprise Records, re-recording the album. However, after the release of The Fourth World, during Levine and Madden's senior year of high school in 1997, it had morphed into a band with a style reminiscent of 1960s Britpop. Despite high expectations from the band and record company, the album failed to catch on and their lead single, "Soap Disco", was a failure. According to Levine, the failure of the album was "a huge disappointment" that nearly led them to break up in 1998. The album sold around 5,000 copies and the band was dropped after one month.

Dusick and Madden attended college locally at University of California, Los Angeles, while Levine and Carmichael relocated to the East coast to attend Five Towns College, in Dix Hills, Long Island, New York. While Levine and Carmichael were in New York, they began to take notice of the urban music surrounding them and later let the style influence the songs they wrote.

When the band returned in 2000, they brought those influences with them. Sam Farrar (bassist of the band Phantom Planet) explained that the Aaliyah song "Are You That Somebody?" affected the band and influenced the song "Not Coming Home". Producer Tim Sommer signed them to a demo deal with MCA Records and produced three tracks with them in Los Angeles in the middle of 2000, with Mark Dearnley engineering. Against Sommer's advice, MCA declined to pick up the band, and these tracks were never released. 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. While looking for talent for the Octone label, Berkman was given a bunch of demos by the brother of a former colleague at Columbia Records and the song that caught his attention was Sunday Morning which he referred it as a "genius song". Berkman was surprised the song was credited to Kara's Flowers, because the band sounded completely different from the one he had heard while at Warner Bros. Records.

Berkman encouraged Diener and Boxenbaum to fly out to Los Angeles to watch a showcase gig at The Viper Room for the four-piece Kara's Flowers. After watching Levine onstage, they were convinced. Berkman told HitQuarters he believed what the band needed was a "fifth member to play the guitar and free up the singer, so he could be the star I perceived him to be". Octone immediately insisted that the band change its name to break with its pop past. Also, the label began looking for a full-time guitarist to enable Levine to focus on performing as the frontman. James Valentine (from the L.A. band Square) was recruited for the job. On his joining the band, Valentine commented: "I became friends with them and we sort of started jamming together, it was very much like I was cheating on my band, we were having sort of an affair and I eventually quit my other band to join up with them."

2002–2006: Songs About Jane and Dusick's departure


James Valentine attended Berklee College of Music with John Mayer in 1996, where they developed a rapport. In 2002, the two reconnected at a Mayer radio broadcast. After Mayer heard their album, he was so impressed (particularly by "This Love", which became the most successful release off the album and propelled the band to superstardom) that he invited them to open for him during his early 2003 tour. The first single, "Harder to Breathe", slowly started to pick up airplay which helped spur sales of the album. By March 2004, Songs About Jane had reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and "Harder to Breathe" had made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in September 2004, 26 months after its release; this was the longest period between an album's release and its initial Top 10 appearance since SoundScan results were included in the Billboard 200 in 1991. The album went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. This had all happened after the band "abandoned its post-grunge roots for a radio-friendly pop-soul sound, even while dabbling in hard rock". Mayer invited the band to open for him again in 2004. Over the next three years, the band toured virtually non-stop, including visits to seventeen countries. During this time, the band toured with Michelle Branch, Graham Colton, and the Rolling Stones. Other acts the band toured alongside with included Gavin DeGraw, Matchbox Twenty, Sugar Ray, The Counting Crows, Phantom Planet, the Hives, Dashboard Confessional, Simon Dawes, the Thrills, Thirsty Merc, Marc Broussard, the Donnas, the RedWest, Michael Tolcher, and Guster.

Songs About Jane eventually reached No. 1 on the Australian albums (ARIA), while "Harder to Breathe" made the Top 20 singles charts in the US and UK, and Top 40 in Australia and New Zealand. The album also eventually climbed to No. 1 in the UK. The second single, "This Love", reached No. 5 in the US, No. 3 in the UK, and No. 8 in Australia. The third single, "She Will Be Loved", reached the Top 5 in both the US and the UK, and No. 1 in Australia. The fourth single, "Sunday Morning", reached the Top 40 in the US, UK, and Australia. 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 it headlined. On June 9, 2005, the band performed at the American Film Institute's tribute to filmmaker George Lucas. Lucas himself had selected Maroon 5 for the event, as it was his children's favorite band at the time. Over the years of touring with the band their drummer, percussionist and backing vocalist Ryan Dusick had been suffering from the touring life. The strains of non-stop touring aggravated an old sports injury. After several absences from the tour with Ryland Steen and Josh Day taking his place, Dusick officially left the band in September 2006. Matt Flynn, the former drummer of Gavin DeGraw and The B-52's, joined the band as Dusick's replacement.

2006–2008: It Won't Be Soon Before Long
After recording for eight months in 2006, Maroon 5's second album It Won't Be Soon Before Long, was released worldwide in May 2007 by A&M Octone Records. Levine described the follow-up to Songs About Jane is "sexier and stronger", gaining inspiration from iconic 80s artists such as Prince, Shabba Ranks, Michael Jackson and Talking Heads. Ann Powers writing for Los Angeles Times said It Won't Be Soon Before Long is "An icy-hot blend of electro-funk and blue-eyed soul that works its cruel streak with the confidence of Daniel Craig's James Bond". Before its release, "Makes Me Wonder" was the No. 1 selling single and video on iTunes. It was also the No. 1 selling album, with more than 50,000 digital pre-sales. After its release, the album broke iTunes sales records its week of release, selling over 101,000 copies. The first single "Makes Me Wonder", was released to radio March 27, 2007. The song debuted at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100, the lowest debuting single of the group's five chart entries. In the first week of May, the single skyrocketed from a lowly position of No. 64 to No. 1, the biggest jump in Billboard history at the time. "Makes Me Wonder" has also achieved No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs, Pop 100, and Hot Dance Club Play charts. The album's songs "Makes Me Wonder", "Wake Up Call", "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Nothing Lasts Forever", are featured on the third season of the MTV television series The Hills.

To support the album, the band performed on a six-date club tour in which it visited small venues in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami and New York City in early June 2007. The band followed with a concert that streamed live via MSN Music in mid-June. On July 10, it opened for The Police in Miami, and followed with an acoustic performance at the Miami club, Studio A, the next day. On September 6, 2007, Maroon 5 appeared for the Fashion Rocks 2007 concert, where they performed "Wake Up Call", and a cover of The Ronettes' "Be My Baby". Later, the band headlined the It Won't Be Soon Before Long Tour took place in late 2007, where they toured 28 cities in North America. The tour began September 29 in Detroit touring in 28 cities in North America and concluded November 10, 2007 in Las Vegas. The Hives, as the tour's special guest, performed on all of the dates while Sara Bareilles, Kevin Michael and Phantom Planet each performed in a portion of the tour. Around the time, Maroon 5 performed "Makes Me Wonder" on season 6 and "If I Never See Your Face Again" in season 7 of American Idol. On March 28, 2008, the band continued on tour with Dashboard Confessional in their world tour and touring with OneRepublic, Brandi Carlile, Ry Cuming and The Counting Crows. In May 2008, the band released a new duet version of "If I Never See Your Face Again", with Rihanna. It appeared on both the band's re-released second album and Rihanna's re-released of her third album entitled, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded. Later, the band and country artist Sara Evans appeared and performed in an episode on the series CMT Crossroads. On May 13, 2008, Maroon 5 performed "Goodnight Goodnight", at the 2008 The CW Upfront event in Lincoln Center, New York City. As a promotion, the song appeared on the network's fall 2008 advertisement. The band also performed with the song in CSI: NY, where they guest starred in the fifth season episode "Page Turner".

2008–2012: Hands All Over


Levine stated that he believed the band was reaching its peak and may make one more album before disbanding. He explained, "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, like the Rolling Stones". Levine later 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".

The band's third studio album was recorded in 2009 in Switzerland, where the band was joined by record producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. During the band's time on touring along with artists and groups are served as opening acts for the Back to School Tour in November, with Kate Earl and Fitz and the Tantrums and the Palm Trees & Power Lines Tour in the summer of 2010, with Kris Allen, Owl City, V V Brown, Ry Cuming, Guster and Miggs, respectively. The band's third album titled Hands All Over, was released on September 21, 2010. On the Billboard 200, the album debuted at number two behind Zac Brown Band's album You Get What You Give. Despite the high placement on the Billboard 200 only 142,000 copies were sold, which was relatively weak compared to their previous album It Won't Be Soon Before Long, which debuted at number one with 429,000 copies. The album received mixed reviews from music critics, though many of them praised it for its production. The first single of the album "Misery", was released on June 22, 2010. In October 2010, Maroon 5 began their Hands All Over Tour, with special guests OneRepublic, Bruno Mars, Ry Cuming, Sara Bareilles, the Like and actor Jason Segel. In February 2011, Maroon 5 headlined the Super Bowl XLV pre-show with guest Keith Urban, where the band performing their songs including "Misery" and "Never Gonna Leave This Bed". During a promotion by Coca-Cola in March 2011, the band participated in a special studio session during which, with the help of musician PJ Morton, they only had 24 hours to write a completely original song. After their time was up, the song "Is Anybody Out There" was released on the Coca-Cola website for free download.

On July 12, 2011, the band re-released the album Hands All Over just to include their summer hit "Moves like Jagger", featuring Christina Aguilera. The song premiered live on The Voice on June 21 and reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 2011. Frontman Levine was also featured in the Gym Class Heroes' song "Stereo Hearts" from their album The Papercut Chronicles II, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The band toured with Train for the 2011 Summer Tour. On September 8, 2011, Jesse Carmichael stated the band was likely to begin recording its next album within the year. On October 1, 2011, the band performed live at the Rock in Rio concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Maroon 5 was a last hour addition, chosen to fill the vacant spot left by Jay-Z after he cancelled his appearance for personal reasons. The band launched a Snapple flavor named "Tea Will Be Loved" in support of Feeding America in September 2011.

In November 2011, Maroon 5 performed "Moves Like Jagger" and "Stereo Hearts" with Travie McCoy on Saturday Night Live on November 5. On November 20, 2011, the band also performed the same songs along with Christina Aguilera and Gym Class Heroes at the 2011 American Music Awards, where the band won their first AMA for Favorite Pop Band/Duo/Group. Later, the band played "Moves Like Jagger" at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In 2012, the band contributed with a song called "Come Away to the Water", featuring Rozzi Crane for the soundtrack of The Hunger Games. At the 2012 People's Choice Awards on January 11, 2012, the band won the award for Favorite Band, beating Linkin Park and Coldplay. On February 12, 2012, the group performed at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, alongside Foster the People and the Beach Boys in a medley of the Beach Boys songs to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

2012–2014: Carmichael's hiatus and Overexposed
On March 9, 2012, Maroon 5 announced that Jesse Carmichael would take a break from performing with the group for an undetermined amount of time to focus more on his studies of "music and the healing arts" and was replaced by a new keyboardist and background vocalist PJ Morton, who had been touring with them since 2010 and who became a full-time band member, as Morton gained little success as an R&B artist. In late March 2012, the band announced their fourth studio album Overexposed, which was released on June 26, 2012. Levine stated that Overexposed is their "most diverse and poppiest album yet". On April 16, 2012, Maroon 5 premiered the first single from the album "Payphone", featuring Wiz Khalifa, on the reality competition show The Voice, in which Levine is one of the coaches. The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eventually peaking at number two. On May 11, 2012, Maroon 5 announced to release the 10th Anniversary Edition of their first album Songs About Jane, on June 5, 2012, which contains demo versions of the album's original songs.

The second single from Overexposed, "One More Night" was released on June 18, 2012. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, blocking Psy's monster hit "Gangnam Style" from the top spot on the chart for nine consecutive weeks and tied with Carly Rae Jepsen's hit single "Call Me Maybe" for most number of weeks in the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2012.

At the start of their Overexposed Tour in South America, Maroon 5 introduced the newest addition in the band to the audience: their old and close friend Sam Farrar on guitars, occasionally on the bass guitar, percussion, additional keyboards, backing vocals and providing samples and other special effects (using the MPC). Farrar co-wrote and co-produced a few of the band's songs on almost all of their studio albums and also remixed their song "Woman" on Call and Response: The Remix Album, released in 2008 (for the original version from the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack). On August 31, 2012 – during a show in Argentina – Farrar filled-in for Mickey Madden on the bass guitar for the very first time – he subsequently filled-in for Madden on the next few shows of the tour. In July 2012, Maroon 5 began to work for the upcoming fifth studio album, after the commercial success of Overexposed and on October 10, 2012, Jesse Carmichael confirmed that he would be returning to the band after they complete their Overexposed Tour (just 3 days later, the first part of the tour ended on October 13, 2012 in Sydney, Australia). He will rejoin in time for the band to record their fifth studio album.

On November 8, 2012, Maroon 5 performed "Daylight", the third single of the album was debuted on The Voice. To promote the song, the band launched a video project called "The Daylight Project". The project encouraged fans to film their own segments for inclusion in the official music video for "Daylight", that would be directed by Jonas Åkerlund, was released on December 11, 2012. Another video for the song titled "Playing for Change", was released on January 17, 2013. The song peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 and reached at number one on the Mainstream Top 40, setting a record for the most number ones held by a group in over 20 years.

In mid 2013, Maroon 5 released the fourth and final single from the album, "Love Somebody" on May 14. The band also performed this song live on The Voice on May 20, 2013 and The Today Show on June 14. Later, the band headlined the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, with special guest Kelly Clarkson. The tour began on August 1, 2013, at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis, Missouri and ended on October 6, 2013, with a concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

In 2014, Maroon 5 performed "All My Loving" and "Ticket to Ride", at a tribute concert titled The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' arrival in the United States.

2014–2016: V, return of Carmichael and lineup changes


In April 2013, James Valentine said the band was in the studio recording songs for the fifth album: "The stuff we're working on now, it definitely has gone maybe a little darker in its sound, maybe back a little bit more to what we kind of did on Songs About Jane, but at this point we do have all kinds of different songs and it is early".

On April 15, 2014, Jesse Carmichael confirmed that his hiatus from the band was complete and he reunited with the band in time to record the album. With Carmichael's return along with PJ Morton, the band's lineup was added six members.

In May 2014, Maroon 5 signed Interscope Records and announced their fifth studio album V (pronounced: "five"), which was released on September 2, 2014. The album was also released on a limited-edition ZinePak. The album's first single "Maps", was released on June 16, 2014 and peaked number 6 on the Hot 100 chart. On August 10, 2014, the band headlined the Hyundai Card City Break, a rock festival in South Korea. At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 24, 2014, Maroon 5 appeared to perform for the first time with "Maps" and "One More Night". The second single of the album, "Animals" was released on August 25, 2014 and peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100 chart. It was featured on the 2015 Kia Soul EV commercial.

After releasing the album, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart on September 10, 2014. V received mixed reviews from critics. Brad Wete, writing for Billboard, said: "Levine's hummingbird vocals and passionate delivery are as earnest as they were on their 2002 debut Songs About Jane." On September 11, 2014, Maroon 5 performed during the 2014 iTunes Festival at the Roundhouse in London, England. Later, the band performed at the Grammy Awards' Christmas special, entitled A Very Grammy Christmas, on November 18, 2014 and at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour 2014 on December 12, 2014.

"Sugar" was released as the third single from the album on January 13, 2015. A music video was released on January 14, 2015, where the band traveling around Los Angeles and performing at random weddings. The single reached at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the 2015 Nissan GT-R commercial. On February 22, 2015, the band performed the song "Lost Stars" by frontman Levine at the 87th Academy Awards. "Lost Stars" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2013 film Begin Again (which also stars Levine) and the deluxe edition of the band's album V.

During this time, Maroon 5 headlined a worldwide tour entitled Maroon V Tour, in support of the album which only lasted from February 2015 to May 2018. Throughout the tour, artists Magic!, Rozzi Crane, Nick Jonas, Matt McAndrew, Tove Lo, R. City and Phases served as the tour's opening acts. On May 12, 2015, the band announced that they were to release their single "This Summer" on May 15, 2015 and will appeared on the re-released deluxe edition of the fifth album on May 18, 2015. The band performed "This Summer" on NBC's music competition show The Voice, on the following day.

The band released their first greatest hits album Singles, on September 25, 2015, through Interscope and Adam Levine's label 222 Records. It contains 12 singles taken from the first five albums. A year later, the band also released The Studio Albums, an album collection box set featuring all five albums was available on September 30.

In November 2015, guitarist James Valentine spoke about the band's strategy moving onto their sixth studio album, saying the group wanted "to make a more traditional record next ... like the way we made Songs About Jane, just sitting in a room with our instruments and slugging it out. It's been fun to experiment on the last couple of records with the more electronic sounds, but maybe we've gone as far as we can with that for now."

In late 2016, Sam Farrar who appears in the band's promotional photo, where he became a new official member leading the band's lineup to seven members.

2017–2019: Red Pill Blues and Super Bowl LIII halftime show
In January 2017, Adam Levine revealed that the band is working on their sixth studio album. According to Levine, the album will be released "soonish", and will be R&B-influenced. At the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Levine announced that the album will be released in November.

On October 4, 2017, Maroon 5 revealed their sixth studio album Red Pill Blues, the name was inspired by the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix. The album was released on November 3, 2017 and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Like the band's previous two albums, Red Pill Blues was received mixed reviews due to the band's overwhelming pop direction. This album includes five singles: "Don't Wanna Know", "Cold", "What Lovers Do", "Wait" and "Girls Like You". The remix version of "Girls Like You" featuring Cardi B, had spent seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and it set a record for most weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, remaining atop this chart for 36 consecutive weeks.

To support the album, Maroon 5 embarked on the Red Pill Blues Tour, began on May 30, 2018 and concluded on December 31, 2019, along with special guests Julia Michaels, Cxloe, Sigrid and Phantom Planet. In June 2018, the band recorded a cover version of Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Three Little Birds", was released as a single on iTunes and featured on three Hyundai vehicles are appeared on the promotional advertisements of the Santa Fe and Kona for 2018 FIFA World Cup and the Nexo in the song's official music video both were directed by Joseph Kahn. The band made an guest appearance in the first episode of the YouTube Premium television web series Sugar.

On January 16, 2019, band members Levine and Jesse Carmichael, with Pearl Jam member Stone Gossard performed "Seasons" by Chris Cornell, in a tribute concert titled I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. On February 3, 2019, Maroon 5 headlined the Super Bowl LIII halftime show in Atlanta, Georgia, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with American rappers Big Boi and Travis Scott. The band was criticized for agreeing to participate despite the U.S. national anthem protests by Colin Kaepernick and others. However, the band's performance was met with a major controversy by critics and audiences, and is considered to be one of the worst Super Bowl halftime shows in NFL history.

2019–present: Upcoming seventh studio album
On September 20, 2019, the band released the song "Memories", which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 chart. It is served as the lead single of their upcoming seventh studio album. In October 2019, James Valentine revealed the details about the band working on their new album, he stated: "It does foreshadow a new album, which we’re currently in the studio working on. But, yeah, we are working on a new record." On February 1, 2020, the band headlined the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest, a pre-show for Super Bowl LIV at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, with special guests Dan + Shay and Demi Lovato.

Maroon 5 is set to embark the upcoming 2020 Tour from February 23 to September 17, 2020, with Meghan Trainor and Leon Bridges as opening acts.

Musical style and influences
Maroon 5's musical style has generally been regarded as pop, pop rock, funk rock, dance-pop,  blue-eyed soul,  neo soul, R&B, and soft rock.

Adam Levine has stated: "Everything that's written and performed and put together pretty much comes from us. I just think people would be surprised to know that we're a self-contained unit. We're a band that does their own thing. There's no puppet master." However, in an article about the songwriter and producer Benny Blanco, it is revealed that at least some of the band's songs, such as "Moves like Jagger," are the product of efforts by, or collaborations with, professional songwriters and producers. In the same article, Levine says, "It's almost as if [Benny Blanco] has the Midas touch in putting the right people together at the right time to create a musical moment. He's about the collaboration. And he's so good at nailing down who does everything best."

The band has cited Michael Jackson, The Beatles, The Police, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, the Bee Gees, Tonic, Prince, Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye as influences.

Adam Levine has also cited Billy Joel as an influence. 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 songs tend to be very guitar-heavy, often accompanied by piano or synthesizer. The theme in most of their songs is love, frequently lost love; songs like "This Love", "Makes Me Wonder" and "Misery" have a very cynical tone, often expressing dissatisfaction with a relationship, while their more heartfelt and emotional songs such as "She Will Be Loved" and "Never Gonna Leave This Bed" express a longing for a romantic relationship. "Makes Me Wonder" has a secondary theme, in which Levine expresses his disillusionment and frustration with the state of American politics and the Iraq War.

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." James Valentine called Overexposed "our most 'pop' record ever and we weren't shy about really going for it". They also have experimented with new wave  and disco  sounds on several albums. Their early work as Kara's Flowers has been tagged as having a grunge sound a la Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots, among others.

Band members
Current members
 * Adam Levine – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1994–present), lead guitar (1994–2001)
 * Jesse Carmichael – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1994–2012, 2014–present)
 * Mickey Madden – bass guitar (1994–present)
 * James Valentine – lead guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
 * Matt Flynn – drums, percussion (2006–present; touring member 2004–2006)
 * PJ Morton – keyboards, backing vocals (2012–present; touring member 2010–2012)
 * Sam Farrar – keyboards, synthesizer, sampler, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2016–present; touring member 2012–2016)

Former members
 * Ryan Dusick – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1994–2006)

Discography
Studio albums


 * Songs About Jane (2002)
 * It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007)
 * Hands All Over (2010)
 * Overexposed (2012)
 * V (2014)
 * Red Pill Blues (2017)

as Kara's Flowers


 * We Like Digging? (1995)
 * The Fourth World (1997)
 * Stagg Street Recordings (1999)

Awards and recognition
Maroon 5 have been the recipients of three Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards,  and three People's Choice Awards, with five Teen Choice Awards, and eight Billboard Music 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 and stayed tied with Carly Rae Jepsen's hit single "Call Me Maybe" for most weeks at in 2012.

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 Mediabase, becoming one of the most successful acts of Interscope Records. 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's Hot 100 60th Anniversary Greatest of All Time and on Billboard's "The Top 60 Duos/Groups of All Time" respectively.

In January 2020, the band was listed number nine on the Billboard Top Artists of the 2010's chart.

Tours
Headlining
 * Songs About Jane Tour (2003–2004)
 * 5th Annual Honda Civic Tour (2005)
 * It Won't Be Soon Before Long Tour (2007–2008)
 * Hands All Over Tour (2010–2011)
 * Overexposed Tour (2012–2014)
 * Maroon V Tour (2015–2018)
 * Red Pill Blues Tour (2018–2019)
 * The 2020 Tour (2020)

Co-headlining
 * 2011 Summer Tour (2011) (with Train)
 * 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour (2013) (with Kelly Clarkson)


 * Promotional
 * The Club Tour (2007)
 * Back to School Tour (2009)
 * Palm Trees & Power Lines Tour (2010)

(Matchbox Twenty) (2003) (The Counting Crows) (2008)
 * Opening act
 * Jeep World Outside Festival (2002) (with various artists)
 * More Than You Think You Are Tour
 * John Mayer and the Counting Crows Summer Tour (John Mayer and The Counting Crows) (2003)
 * Heavier Things Tour (John Mayer) (2004)
 * A Bigger Bang Tour (The Rolling Stones) (2005)
 * The Police Reunion Tour (The Police) (2007)
 * Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings Tour

Philanthropy

 * Since 2008, Maroon 5 has partnered with environmental non-profit REVERB to green their tours and engage fans to take action for the environment.
 * Maroon 5 has been a longtime supporter of Aid Still Required (ASR). After contributing the live version of "She Will Be Loved" to ASR's All Star CD in support of the survivors of the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami, Maroon 5 went on to record a public service announcement for ASR about work that still needed to be done in Haiti. Maroon 5 has participated in various ASR social media campaigns and Levine has donated a meet and greet on the set of The Voice to raise funds for various ASR programs.
 * Maroon 5 supports the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation.
 * 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, Coca-Cola would donate to Africa for clean water.
 * Adam Levine, whose brother is openly gay, is an outspoken supporter of same sex marriage and LGBT rights. In 2011, he made a video 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".
 * 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.
 * On March 25, 2017, Maroon 5 participate during the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) "Earth Hour" campaign.
 * Maroon 5 and Interscope Records are teamup and gave a donation to the Malala Fund in 2018 and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, with the NFL for the Super Bowl LIII halftime show in 2019, respectively.

Publications

 * Maroon 5: Midnight Miles (July 18, 2006)
 * Maroon 5: Shooting for the Stars, Omnibus Press (October 14, 2013)