Maroon 5

Originally formed in 1994 under the name Kara’s Flowers, the group Maroon 5 got together when the members were only in high school. Together, Adam Levin, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick were signed to Reprise Records under their initial group name. They released their first album entitled The Fourth World in 1997, however, it was received as widely as they had hoped. Kara’s Flowers decided to scrap their name, take on James Valentine in 2001, and renamed themselves Maroon 5. After being signed to Octone Records, the released their debut album under their new identity: Songs About Jane in 2002, which the smash hit single “Harder to Breathe”. Songs About Jane subsequently charted at #6 on the Billboard 200, and thanks to releases such as “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved”, Maroon 5 became an international sensation.

In 2005, the group won a Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist. The next year, original band mate Ryan Dusick left, and his spot was taken by Matt Flynn. Shortly after, they released their second studio album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long in 2007, featuring the #1 Billboard Hot 100 single “Makes Me Wonder”. After touring extensively in many countries, the band released Hands All Over, their third studio album, in 2011, which was propped up by singles such as “Moves Like Jagger” with Christina Aguilera. The single sold just under 15 million copies internationally. They followed this record-breaking achievement with their fourth album Overexposed in 2012, featuring the singles “Payphone” and “One More Night”, both of which charted extremely high in the United States. Maroon 5 signed with Interscope Records in order to release their fifth album, V, in 2014. Since their formation, they have sold more than 10 million albums nationally, and a total of 27 million worldwide.