Maroon 5

Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band that originated in 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, and keyboardist PJ Morton. Before the current group was established, the original four members, Adam Levine (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jesse Carmichael (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Mickey Madden (bass guitar) and Ryan Dusick (drums), formed a band known as Kara's Flowers in 1994, while they were still in high school. The band, which self-released an album called We Like Digging?, then signed to Reprise Records and released the album The Fourth World in 1997. After the album garnered a tepid response, the band parted ways with the record label and the members attended college. In 2001, the band changed its image by adding guitarist James Valentine and pursuing a different direction under the name Maroon 5. At this point, Carmichael switched to playing keyboards, which has since become his main instrument in the band. After these changes, Maroon 5 signed with a subsidiary of J Records, Octone Records, and released their debut album, Songs About Jane, in June 2002. The album's lead single, "Harder to Breathe", received heavy airplay, which helped the album to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2004, the album went platinum and has been dubbed "the sleeper hit of the millennium