Maroon 5
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They named their debut album after Jane, a band member's ex-girlfriend. They toured the states in a 15-passenger minivan, their debut album took so long a time before reaching the charts, despite of this, Maroon 5 managed to stand tall. This five-piece band brought us the hits "Harder To Breathe", "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved" from their debut album "Songs About Jane"
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[edit] About
[edit] The Early Years
They lived in West L.A in 1996 and they were Kara's Flowers, a garage/grunge band-they were: Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick; they sang power pop songs in their high school and became fairly popular locally, but not nationally. The band managed to land a contract with label Reprise and released a record entitled The Fourth World, it really did not hit big time, so the band members decided they would go to college instead.
The four headed for college in UCLA and Five Towns College in Long Island, New York where they lived and went to school in an African-American dominated area. They were then exposed to their music, most particularly of Jay-Z and Aaliyah. Adam recalls that the music there was not even known to them but in time they learned to love that and so had their music turned around, and their lives as well. After a semester in the said college, the three goes back to West L.A for a total band makeover.
The quartet turned the band into a new direction; vocalist and primary songwriter Adam Levine sung differently, as influenced by the music of the African-Americans; Jesse Carmichael switched from guitar to keys and new band member Jesse Valentine entered the scene on guitars; landing the band to five super-dynamic musicians, hence the name Maroon 5.
[edit] Flowers Are Now Marooned
In 2000, they recorded many demos that illustrated their new R&B slash Rock style. This move has caught the attention of many labels; independent label Octone took the band because of its original blend of styles, into a joint venture with major recording label J-Records. They entered recording in 2001.
Their songs were not popular instantly. In fact, the album Songs About Jane was released in June 2002 and did not enter the Billboard's Top 100 until the following year. It was a hard time for the band-but Octone and J-Records were together determined that this band will make it to the charts, and will be noticed by the crowd, and be recognized in the music industry.
Thus, the band toured around the States patiently early in 2002 before the release of their debut album in their tour-van, night after night for several months. The patience paid off, though! They gained fans one by one, which owes to their unique musical style, fiery performance and openly-candid lyrics. After a year of squeezing themselves in a 15-passenger van, they bought themselves a bus-the vehicle upgrade in 2003 was considered a great feat by the band.
This was their history-but what was more sensational was when their album "Songs About Jane" was finally noticed. This album featuring breakout hits "She Will Be Loved" and "This Love" was constantly in the airwaves and was popular not only in the states but around the world. The songs that made the band attain global success were liked because of its taste or rock combined intelligently with lyrics that music lovers can definitely relate to.
The album was a certified platinum, and peaked the Billboard Top 100 at No. 6, which included chart-topping hits "She Will Be Loved" and "Harder To Breathe" in singles. Their songs received massive airplay and maybe, just maybe, that marked the start of the success for the five boys.
In 2004 the band was also featured in the soundtrack of Spiderman II. Their busy schedule now includes tours around the States, a Sly Stone Tribute album, a tour with the Rolling Stones, another with John Mayer and a rumored new album. Let's just wait patiently for them. Just like how the band waited patiently for their success.
[edit] The Band
| Member | Information |
|---|---|
| Adam Levine |
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| James Valentine |
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| Jesse Carmichael |
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| Mickey Madden |
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| Ryan Dusick |
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[edit] Awards & Certifications
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist |
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "This Love" |
[edit] Certifications
| Year | Album | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Songs About Jane | 4x Platinum in the US |
| 2004 | 1.22.03.Acoustic | Platinum in the US |
[edit] Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | AUS | NZ | UK | US Hot 100 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Harder To Breathe" | 37 | 1 | 13 | 18 | Songs About Jane |
| 2004 | "This Love" | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Songs About Jane |
| 2004 | "She Will Be Loved" | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Songs About Jane |
| 2004 | "Sunday Morning" | 27 | 1 | 27 | 31 | Songs About Jane |
| 2007 | "Makes Me Wonder" | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | It Won't Be Soon Before Long |
| 2007 | "Wake Up Call" | - | - | - | - | It Won't Be Soon Before Long |
[edit] News
[edit] Tours & Concerts
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album | Information |
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[edit] Other artists
[edit] Similar artists
[edit] Influences
[edit] Contemporaries
[edit] Trivia
- Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden were known as Edible Nuns; and they played at their Jr. High School Dance.
- As the band entered recording, Adam's relationship with his ex-grilfriend was falling apart, and so they named their debut album "Songs About Jane"; they thought that it was the honest name for their album.
- Because of the rocketing sales and positive feedback from music fans, the group appeared in almost every TV show that features musicians. From Saturday Night Live to The Today Show.
[edit] Reviews
- Maroon 5 does not sound like they are five men making their music. It sounds that they are one in bringing to their fans the music that they sincerely created. The lyrics are not down deep, but it can be felt and listeners can easily relate to it. Every song that they sings speaks of the reality of falling in love, stumbling and standing up after.
