While he was a student at the Brentwood School, a private school for rich kids, Levine met his friends Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick. Fredric, and one of his uncles eventually became a writer and producer on The West Wing. (When Levine was born, Gloria Gaynor’s “ I Will Survive” was the #1 song in America.) Levine’s father founded the California retail chain M. But I’m getting ahead of myself.Īdam Levine grew up very comfortable in Los Angeles. They were spectacularly unsuccessful, and maybe that experience led them to become the slipstream hitmakers that they are now. At the tail end of the ’90s alt-rock boom, Maroon 5 had a label deal and an album. Did you know that? If Maroon 5 had any lore, that would be a key part of it. “Makes Me Wonder,” Maroon 5’s first chart-topper, doesn’t do much else, but it puts their smooth and precise mediocrity on full display. Instead, the members of Maroon 5 are simply professionals with sharp instincts who rode all their built-in advantages as hard as they could. My suspicion is that there’s nothing sinister or supernatural at work. So how did Maroon 5 happen? How did they become stars? Why did they get booked for this century’s least memorable Super Bowl Halftime Show? Why do I know all about Adam Levine’s extremely funny sexting habits? It’s one of life’s great mysteries. I could listen to them a thousand times, and I would still forget about them the instant that they stopped playing. These songs are ghosts they leave no footprints. Instead, Maroon 5’s music just slips past me, into the ether. I don’t have that kind of energy for them. Their songs aren’t distinctive enough to inspire hatred. When it comes to Maroon 5’s actual songs, though, I have the rough equivalent of face blindness. I would probably recognize Adam Levine if he was standing right in front of me. They’ve dome something right, and there are people in the world who appreciate their efforts. Early in their career, Maroon 5 hit upon a sort of agreeable, easy-to-ignore blue-eyed-soul thing, and they tweaked that formula over the years, somehow riding the zeitgeist and usually staying somewhere near the top of the pop charts. Adam Levine spent a long time on a popular TV show where the whole premise was that he’s a pop star helping other singers on their way to pop stardom. They’ve sold millions upon millions of records. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Maroon 5 fan. But I feel pretty safe, since I don’t think Maroon 5 fans are the belligerent, gun-toting type. If this mythical person demands to hear more Maroon 5, then it’s been an honor to write this column for all of you, and I’ll see you on the other side. I’ll be like, “ This! Love! Has! Take-en con-trol! Of me!” Then I’ll kind of trail off for a few seconds and look beseechingly at my would-be assassin. If I’m ever in one of those hypothetical situations where someone puts a gun to my head and demands that I sing a Maroon 5 song, I think I’ll make it out of there OK. 16.In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. 13, while Rihanna”s “Diamond”s” starts its chart run at No. Outside the Top 10, Ke$ha”s “Die Young” enters at No. 9 and Owl City/Carly Rae Jepsen”s “Good Time” falls 8-10. Flo Rida”s “Whistle” drops 6-8, Alex Clare”s “Too Close” holds at No. Justin Bieber”s “As Long As You Love Me” featuring Big Sean rises 7-6. 4 and Pink”s “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” at No. Otherwise, things remain fairly static on the Top 10. The first single from “Red,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” spent three weeks at No. 7, making it the highest debut by a female since Katy Perry”s “Part of Me” entered the chart at No. That”s not the only excitement on the chart: Taylor Swift”s “Begin Again,” the second track she”s released from her forthcoming album, “Red,” blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. The Hot 100 combines airplay, streaming, and digital sales. In the closest race for the top spot since February, “One More Night” grabs the crown because of its radio play and streaming, although “Gangnam Style” outsold “One More Night” by almost 100,000 digital downloads. Maroon 5″s “One More Night” squeaks by Psy”s surging “Gangnam Style” to spend its third week atop the Billboard Hot 100.
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