New Album Uploads: Maroon 5 “Red Pill Blue”

Six albums into their storied career, Maroon 5 continue to expand the signature style that not only transformed them into one of pop music’s most enduring artists, but also elevated them among the 21^st century’s biggest acts. To date, the universally renowned Los Angeles band have achieved three GRAMMY® Awards, become “the most successful group in the history of the Billboard Hot 100” with 12 Top 10 entries, sold over 20 million albums and 48 million singles worldwide, and earned gold and platinum certifications in more than 35 countries. March 2017 saw the musicians close out a massive world tour that touched down in 30-plus countries for 120 concerts in front of more than 2.5 million fans. Never stopping or slowing down, they went right back to work upon landing in Los Angeles.For their sixth full-length, Red Pill Blues (via 222/Intersceope), Maroon 5 enlisted the talents of longtime collaborator J. Kash as Executive Producer. “What Lovers Do” [feat. SZA] introduced this latest body of work with a proverbial bang. Driven by handclaps, tropical house flavors, funked-out bass grooves, fiery falsetto, and sizzling chemistry with SZA, the track emerged as another phenomenon right out of the gate.

Once again, the group add a worthy cadre of new anthems to their ever-expanding discography of smashes. “Wait” builds into shimmering synths and a stunning vocal run, spotlighting frontman Adam Levine’s powerhouse pipes. The minimalist production of “Lips On You” conjures a sultry bedroom anthem bolstered by a seductive hook that lies somewhere between Duran Duran and The Weeknd. Meanwhile, Julia Michaels makes a show-stopping cameo on the unpredictable and undeniable “Help Me Out.” There’s also “Best 4 U,” which shuffles towards another unshakable chant, “I just want the best for you.” A$AP Rocky also makes a guest appearance on the cinematic rhythmic track “Whiskey.”

Maroon 5 set the stage for their latest full-length by releasing a pair of chart-topping standalone singles—both Kash collaborations. 2016’s “Don’t Wanna Know” [feat. Kendrick Lamar] went Top 10 in 15 countries and scored upwards of 320 million YouTube/VEVO views. In 2017, “Cold” [feat. Future] cracked 236 million Spotify streams and 104 million YouTube/VEVO views.

Red Pill Blues represents yet another milestone for Maroon 5. It marks the 15-year anniversary of their quintuple-platinum 2002 debut, Songs About Jane, which landed them their first GRAMMY® for “Best New Artist.” In 2007, the double-platinum follow-up, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, yielded the smashes “Makes Me Wonder” and “If I Never See Your Face Again.”

2010’s Hands All Over remains a watershed moment, boasting “Misery” and the inescapable “Moves Like Jagger.” Both garnered GRAMMY® nods in the category of “Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.” “Moves Like Jagger” seized #1 on the Top 40, Hot AC, and Billboard Hot 100 charts and stood out as “one of the best-selling singles of 2011” and “one of the best-selling singles of all time” with sales of 8.5 million around the globe. Simultaneously, Levine would be “the first artist in the Hot 100’s 53-year history to reach #1 as part of a group, while entering the Top 10 at the same time as a soloist as he featured on and co-wrote Gym Class Heroes’ ‘Stereo Hearts’.”

Maroon 5 once again ruled pop with 2012’s Overexposed. All of its singles became chart-toppers as “Daylight” catapulted to #1 on Top 40 and Hot AC. Along the way, they set a record for most number ones (six in total) by a group in the Top 40 chart’s 20-year history. They also launched one of the year’s highest grossing tours, generating over 50 million dollars in ticket sales.

During 2014, V bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and yielded “Maps,” “Animals,” and “Sugar”—which each captured #1 on the Top 40 Chart. Rolling Stone wrote, “Adam Levine and Co. continue their top 40 takeover with a set of irresistibly sharp hooks…The 11 songs here are precision-tuned and lustrously polished, jammed with hooks and choruses that build a man cave in your brain.” The music video for the band’s chart-dominating and GRAMMY® Award-nominated single “Sugar” notably amassed over one billion views to date—making it one of the most-viewed videos of all time.

At one point in 2017, Levine jokingly proclaimed, “We are never going away.”

Now, album number six proves Maroon 5 are certainly here to stay. STREAM HERE