Maroon 5

Any musician can envy Maroon 5's success – this Los Angeles band, which plays "rock with soul elements" can't complain of the lack of popularity, and both of its studio albums were a major chart success.

Maroon 5's story begins in 1995, when Adam Levine (lead vocals, guitar), Jesse Carmichael (at that time he played the guitar), Mickey Madden (bass guitar) and Ryan Dusick (drums) were attending the same junior high school. At that time their band was called Kara's Flowers, they were playing grunge, and Levine was singing with a deep voice (as opposed to the high-pitched vocals he is known for now). After school, the four attended different colleges, but they remained in touch and started playing together again in 2001. As Jesse Carmichael switched to keyboards, there appeared an urgent need for a new guitarist – so James Valentine became one. It was the birth of Maroon 5. They haven't been wasting time – their first album, Songs About Jane, became triple platinum in many countries. Album was named after Levin's ex-girlfriend, and all songs were dedicated to the relationships of man and woman – that is probably why Maroon 5's melodious pop-rock had become intimate to great number of people.

The next studio album appeared only after five years later. It was a real challenge – usually, successfull debutants try to release their second album as soon as possible, or they can be forgotten. But It Won't Be Soon Before Long became extremely popular after the first week of sales - nearly half a million copies were sold. This album turned out to be more multifarious – texts became more lyrical, and music with a retro shade resembled the songs of Michael Jackson and Prince. These five years were not silence – Maroon 5 toured extensively, which resulted in a live album, entitled Live - Friday the 13th. But unfortunately there also was another result – Ryan Dusick left the band feeling tired of constant touring and was replaced by Matt Flynn. Also, controversy has surrounded Maroon 5 due to their explicit lyrics and explicit videos without according labeles on boxes. But it seems that problems can not stop Maroon 5 on their way. In 2008 a compilation called Call And Response: The Remix Album arrived. The track-listing featured 18 most popular songs of Maroon 5 performed by other musicians or remade by the band itself with the support of outside artists. Two years later the rockers pleased their fans with the new studio work entitled Hands All Over (2010). The traditionally strong album attracted attention in no time due to its interesting lyrics and original and powerful sound. Maroon 5 managed to mix elements of rock, funk, R&B and even pop music in a very successful way. The band’s signature sound acquires new undertones every year: the group keeps on looking for the new edges of creativity.