Maroon 5 is one of the enduring pop-rock bands of the 21st century, known for chart-topping hits that made them one of the world’s best-selling bands. The band consists of Adam Levine (lead vocals), Jesse Carmichael (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), James Valentine (lead guitar, backing vocals), Matt Flynn (drums), PJ Morton (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sam Farrar (bass). The band started in Los Angeles, California and has been together since 1994.   

Kara’s Flowers to Maroon 5  

Maroon 5’s story really began when Levine, and Carmichael, joined Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick to form a rock band called Kara’s Flowers, named after a girl the band members had a “collective crush” on (lucky her!). The band played many shows and even released an album, We Like Digging? in late 1994.   

A producer heard them play and offered to sign them to a deal. The band released an album, The Fourth World, in 1997. The album failed, the label dropped the band, and the disappointment almost broke the band apart. However, they continued to play sporadically since the members were busy studying for college and Levine and Carmichael relocated to New York. Due to the influence of the NY music scene, Levine and Carmichael, along with the other members plus the addition of Farrar, revamped their sound. In 2001, they rebranded themselves as Maroon 5 and transitioned to a more pop and funk sound.   

Maroon 5’s Breakthrough: Songs About Jane  

Valentine attended Berklee College of Music with John Mayer in 1996. In 2002, they reconnected, and Mayer asked Maroon 5 to open for him during his 2003 tour after being impressed by the band’s “This Love.” The single “Harder to Breathe” soon started getting more airplay which helped drive sales for the album, Songs About Jane. The album was a huge commercial success. Over the next years, the band kept on touring, which aggravated founding member Dusick’s old sports injury, prompting him to leave the band in 2006. Current member Flynn joined as his replacement.  

From It Won’t Be Soon Before Long to Jordi  

After the success of Songs About Jane, Maroon 5 released their second album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. This was Flynn’s first album as the band’s drummer. Dusick, whom he replaced in 2006, was credited as the “Musical Director.” This album included “Makes Me Wonder,” Maroon 5’s first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Dance Club Songs charts.  

Hands All Over is the band’s third album, and was released in 2010. The album received mixed reviews from critics and sales were disappointing compared to It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Founding member Jesse Carmichael took a hiatus in March 2012, three months before the band released their fourth album, Overexposed. Levine in an interview with Rolling Stone called Overexposed as their “most diverse and poppiest album yet.”   

In May 2015, the band signed with a new record label and released their fifth album V, (pronounced as “five.”) The album also marked Carmichael’s return. This year, the band celebrates the album’s 10th anniversary.

Maroon 5 – V 10th Anniversary

Red Pill Blues, the band’s sixth album was released in 2017 to mixed reviews. The album’s title was a nod to The Matrix’s “red pill or blue pill” scene, while their 2021 album, Jordi is named after the band’s manager and Levine’s childhood friend, Jordan Feldstein, actors Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein’s brother who died in 2017.

Maroon 5’s Legacy and Future  

As one of the best-selling music artists of all time, Maroon 5 stays relevant in the ever-changing music landscape. It’s a testament to the band’s talent and adaptability. Whether you’re a fan or a casual listener, the band has unforgettable hits you might have listened to on repeat.  

Check out 10 of our favorite Maroon 5 songs that aren’t “This Love” below.  

• "Maps"

  Don’t be fooled by Maroon 5’s catchy “Maps,” the upbeat song’s lyrics are dark, especially once you see the song’s accompanying video. What we like about the band’s lead single from their album, V, is how the post-chorus is catchy and infectious, and you can’t help but sing along, yet the verses will tell you how your world will suddenly be different when you make a grave mistake. That mistake might even lead the person who’s always there for you to leave: “I like to think we had it all/We drew a map to a better place/But on that road, I took a fall/Oh, baby, why did you run away?” 

  “Maps” reached number one on the Billboard Twitter Real Time Trending 140 chart. Maroon 5 made history by becoming the first foreign band to top several charts simultaneously in Korea, even amid the dominance of K-pop, with “Maps.”  

    

• "She Will Be Loved"

  In an interview with Entertainment Tonight (via Songfacts), Levine, who co-wrote the song with Valentine, said, “It’s a song I wrote about a girl and a guy that I knew who had a tumultuous, troubled relationship. I was looking at it from an outsider’s perspective. She was not in a good place.” The third single from the band’s debut album, “She Will Be Loved” was a hit, although radio stations that play alternative music removed Maroon 5 from their playlist citing the band’s newer songs don’t fit the genre anymore.  

  The song’s music video featured the late Kelly Preston who is suffering in the hands of her husband. It’s a song about how a woman who’s not happy in her relationship, not knowing there’s someone else who can make her feel loved: “Look for the girl with the broken smile/Ask her if she wants to stay a while/And she will be loved.” 

• "Payphone"

  From Maroon 5’s fourth album, Overexposed, “Payphone” featured rapper Wiz Khalifa. According to Levine in his interview with The Guardian (via Songfacts), “I think in the age of the cellphone the payphone has transitioned from this thing we used to use on a very regular basis to this thing that is only associated with being used by someone under duress or in an emergency.” The song’s lyrics tell the story of a love that ended too soon, despite one person giving their all and there’s nothing left for them to do but to “call home” for help: “I’m at a payphone, tryin‘ to call home/All of my change I spent on you/Where have the times gone? Baby, it’s all wrong/Where are the plans we made for two?” 

• "Moves Like Jagger" featuring Christina Aguilera

  Featuring Christina Aguilera, “Moves Like Jagger,” is Maroon 5’s fourth and final single from their re-released third album, Hands All Over. The chorus paid homage to Rolling Stones’ lead singer, Mick Jagger’s swagger that can impress the ladies. Jagger, in an interview with BBC (via Ultimate Classic Rock & Culture), said, “It’s very flattering, isn’t it? Hilarious.”  

  The song can also be interpreted in another way per this article from NBC. Perhaps it depends on the listener? If you’ve forgotten how sexy the lyrics are, here’s a reminder: “Take control, own me just for the night (Ah)/And if I share my secret, you’re gonna have to keep it (Shh)/Nobody else can see this (Ah, uh)/So watch and learn, I won’t show you twice/Head to toe, ooh, baby, rub me right, yeah.” 

• "Sugar"

  “Sugar,” Maroon 5’s song from their fifth studio album V, is a memorable one, not only for the song’s lyrics, but also because of the music video with the band crashing weddings happening simultaneously in Los Angeles, much to the delighted surprise of the couples and wedding guests. There’s been debate about how spontaneous these wedding crashes were. While several sources revealed the weddings were staged, with the exception of two, the concept still feels fitting. After all, the song itself talks about how we always want to be with the one we love, and what better way to express that than by marrying them? As the lyrics say: “I’m hurtin’, baby, I’m broken down/I need your lovin’, lovin’, I need it now/When I’m without you, I’m somethin’ weak/You got me beggin’, beggin’, I’m on my knees.”

• "Girls Like You" featuring Cardi B

  Co-written by Levine with Gian Stone, Cirkut, Jason Evigan and Starrah, “Girls Like You” featuring Cardi B is Maroon 5’s fifth single for their 2017 album, Red Pill Blues. The music video featured well-known women athletes, actresses, activists, models and singers including Gal Gadot, Tiffany Haddish, Camila Cabello, Millie Bobby Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Rita Ora, Behati Prinsloo, Levine’s wife and their daughter Dusty Rose, among others.  

  The song received mixed to negative reviews. However, Cardi B’s verse was considered “the only saving grace” and the “best and only interesting part” of the song: “I’m sure them other girls were nice enough/But you need someone to spice it up/So who you gonna call? Cardi, Cardi/Come and rev it up like a Harley, Harley.” 

  Nevertheless, because of the melodic verses and chorus of the song, a little girl perfectly lip-syncing to the song with her father went viral and gave us an adorable video that racked up millions of views. 

• "Memories"

  “Memories” was the last Maroon 5 song that included bassist Mickey Madden. It’s the lead single from Jordi, the band’s seventh album, released in 2021. The song was about reminiscing the memories of a departed loved one and reminding us to cherish those who are still with us: “Here’s to the ones that we got/Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not/’Cause the drinks bring back all the memories/Of everything we’ve been through/Toast to the ones here today/Toast to the ones that we lost on the way/’Cause the drinks bring back all the memories/And the memories bring back, memories bring back you.” 

  Levine said in an interview, “This song is for anyone who has ever experienced loss. In other words, this song is for all of us.” It paid tribute to Jordan “Jordi” Feldstein, the band’s late manager, after whom the album was also named.  

   

• "One More Night"

  Released in 2012, “One More Night,” is Maroon 5’s second single from their 2012 album, Overexposed. The song’s lyrics perfectly depict how difficult it is to move on from someone you love even if you know that walking away is the best thing to do: “Yeah but baby, there you go again, there you go again/Making me love you/Yeah, I stopped using my head, using my head/Let it all go/Got you stuck on my body, on my body like a tattoo/And now I’m feeling stupid, feeling stupid crawling back to you.” 

   Some have even interpreted the lyrics as being in an abusive relationship with the vicious cycle of leaving and going back, especially with the chorus: “So I cross my heart, and I hope to die/That I’ll only stay with you one more night/And I know I’ve said it a million times/But I’ll only stay with you one more night.” 

• "Don't Wanna Know" featuring Kendrick Lamar

  Featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar, “Don’t Wanna Know” is the lead single for Maroon 5’s Red Pill Blues album. The music video spoofed the game Pokémon Gowith the members dressed as different Pokémons. The video features cameos from Shaquille O’Neal, Vince Vaughn, Ed Helms, Sarah Silverman, and Amanda Cerny.  

  The video showed Levine pinning after Silverman because silly costumes aside, the song’s lyrics are about the oldest heartache theme in the book—yearning for an ex. It reflects on that familiar question we all ask, how our previous lovers are doing now and if they think of us as frequently as we think of them: “Do you think of me? Of what we used to be?/Is it better now that I’m not around?/My friends are actin’ strange, they don’t bring up your name/Are you happy now? Are you happy now?” 

• “I Won’t Go Home Without You”

  Similar theme to that of “Don’t Wanna Know” albeit more of a ballad, “I Won’t Go Home Without You” is a song about regret over a love that’s already ended: “Of all the things I felt I’ve never really showed perhaps the worst is that I ever let you go/Should not ever let you go.”  In the music video, we see Levine wandering the city, looking for his former lover, determined to win her back and willing to do everything to make her return: “It’s not over tonight/Just give me one more chance to make it right/I may not make it through the night/I won’t go home without you.”  The video ends with Levine finding her, but he was already late because she’s already with someone else (ouch). Levine’s crestfallen face singing the last few words of the song will make you feel his regret and despair. 

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