Adam Levine

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Biography

Adam Noah Levine (born March 18, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5 . He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice (U.S.)|The Voice .

Early life

Levine was born in Los Angeles , the son of Patsy Noah and Fred Levine. His uncle is journalist and author Timothy Noah . He has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Julia Milne. When he was six, he made the winning shot of his local YMCA championship basketball game (on a team his father coached) with no time left on the clock. He has said that the incident changed his life and gave him the confidence to be successful.Levin-Epstein, Amy (date unknown), . MSN, courtesy of Best Life . (accessed January 16, 2009)

Levine attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts|French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts Camp (Hancock, NY) with best friend Jesse Carmichael, guitar player of the band known at that time as Kara's Flowers . He graduated from Brentwood School (Los Angeles, California)|Brentwood School in 1997.

Levine has Jewish ancestry on both sides of his family (his father and maternal grandfather were Jewish), and considers himself Jewish, though according to The Jewish Chronicle , who interviewed Levine, he "has rejected formal religious practice for a more generalized, spiritual way of life". He chose not to have a Bar and Bat Mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah as a child.

Original band Kara's Flowers

Having met at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, the band released their first album entitled The Fourth World (album)|The Fourth World in 1997 as high school seniors. That same year the band appeared on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 . The album had little success, and its only single, "Soap Disco", failed commercially. Disappointed with the results of their album, the band members went their separate ways.Rosen, Craig (June 4, 2005), "MAROON 5". Billboard . 117 (23):

Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles for New York. This was the first time the two Los Angeles natives were exposed to a completely different music scene, a cultural awakening for the young men.Kimpel, 2006, p88 On MTV News , in 2002, Levine said, "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip hop, R& B thing. We had friends named Chaos and shit. It was not Brentwood High."Newt Briggs (2004). lasvegasmercury.com (accessed February 27, 2007)

Maroon 5 and mainstream success

During this time, Levine worked a two-week stint as a waiter at Johnny Rockets .Smith, RJ (June 2007), . Blender . (accessed January 16, 2009) After dropping out of Five Towns College , Levine and Jesse reunited with Mickey and Ryan, but added former Square guitarist, James Valentine (musician)|James Valentine in 2001. Renaming the band Maroon 5, Levine and his friends began to compile all of their new found musical influences into their music. While Levine was working as a writer's assistant on the television show "Judging Amy," he spent time writing the lyrics about his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Those lyrics became the album "Songs About Jane."

Other work

Levine has collaborated with various musical acts. In 2005, Levine was featured on the Ying Yang Twins song "Live Again". He appeared on Kanye West 's Late Registration album, on the third single, " Heard 'Em Say ".Moss, Corey (December 19, 2005), . MTV.com (accessed January 18, 2009) He is also featured in the song " Wild Horses (Rolling Stones song)|Wild Horses " on Alicia Keys ' third album Unplugged (Alicia Keys album)|Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged . Over the next year, he co-wrote the track "Say It Again" on Natasha Bedingfield 's album N.B. (album)|N.B. . He also performed the background vocals on this song. Most recently, Levine offered his vocals on Gym Class Heroes|Gym Class Heroes' newest album in the song " Stereo Hearts ".

Levine has made four notable comic appearances on television. During 2007, he appeared on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in an SNL Digital Short called Iran So Far with Andy Samberg , Fred Armisen and Jake Gyllenhaal . Levine played himself while singing a humorous bridge (music)|bridge to a "love song" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . In 2008, he appeared on Comedy Central 's "Night Of Too Many Stars". Levine also had a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the night of stars and endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election .

In October 2008, Levine collaborated with First Act to create the First Act 222 Guitar, fashioned to Levine's specifications. The guitar was made available for purchase at Target (store)|Target retail stores.(October 9, 2008), . YouTube.com (accessed January 18, 2009)

Levine has stated in various interviews that he does not plan on continuing in Maroon 5 forever, and may stop after the tour for Maroon 5's third album.Paton, Maureen (August 2, 2008), . Mail Online. (accessed January 16, 2009)Greene, Andy (June 28, 2007), "Maroon 5: Back on Top". Rolling Stone . (1029):16

Levine made a guest appearance as himself on the season three finale of 30 Rock in the episode Kidney Now! .

In 2009, Levine recorded "Gotten", a song for Slash (musician)|Slash 's first solo album Slash (album)|Slash released in April 2010. "Gotten" was premiered at amazon.com on March 29, 2010.. Amazon.com (1965-07-23). Retrieved on 2011-10-30.

Levine is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will be Loved" in the music rhythm game Band Hero .

In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World" called " We Are the World 25 for Haiti ".

Levine is one of the contestant judges and coach mentors on the singing TV show, The Voice (U.S.)|The Voice .. Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-30. The winner, Javier Colon , was on Levine's team.

Personal life

Levine's ex-girlfriend Jane is the inspiration behind the name of the band's debut album Songs About Jane . In a 2004 interview, he claimed that she had not contacted him despite the success of the album.Rubin, Courtney (April 19, 2004), "MAROON 5 SOUNDS OFF". People . 61 (15):45

In September 2010, Levine said on the Howard Stern Show he had been dating Russian Sports Illustrated swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna seriously for about eight months. The couple met when Maroon 5 performed at the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas.The Howard Stern Show for September 22, 2010.

Levine stripped naked for testicular cancer awareness for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan Magazine|Cosmopolitan UK's February 2011 issue.

During Levine's teenage years, he was medically diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder . In 2011, he launched an educational campaign to raise awareness of ADHD, entitled "Own It".

Levine, whose brother is openly gay, is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights. In 2011, he made a video on Maroon 5's official YouTube account in support of the It Gets Better Project . In January 2012, he announced that Maroon 5 had changed the location of their post- Grammy Award s show because of the "unnamed Los Angeles restaurant's backing of California Proposition 8|Proposition 8 ".

Discography

As a featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Album
Title	Year	US cite web	US Pop	AUS cite web	CAN	GER	IRL cite web	NL cite web	NZ cite web	SWE cite web	UK Chart positions for UK charting singles:	Album
" Heard 'Em Say " ( Kanye West featuring Adam Levine)
Say It Again " ( Natasha Bedingfield featuring Adam Levine)
"Bang Bang" ( K'naan featuring Adam Levine)
" Stereo Hearts " ( Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or receive certification.

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
Title	Year	US	CAN	Album
" Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson Cover)" ( Javier Colon with Adam Levine)

Guest appearances

Title	Year	Album	Artist(s)
"Live Again"
Wild Horses "
"Bang Bang"
"Gotten"

Pop & Rock Music Artists