Adam Levine

Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which he was the lead vocalist and lead guitarist. After the commercial failure of their only album, The Fourth World, the group was reformed in 2001 as Maroon 5 – with James Valentine replacing him as lead guitarist. In 2002, they released their first album, Songs About Jane, which went multi-platinum in the US; since then, they have released six more albums: It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), Hands All Over (2010), Overexposed (2012), V (pronounced: "five") (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021). As part of Maroon 5, Levine has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards. As a solo artist, Levine achieved further commercial success with a guest appearance on the Gym Class Heroes single "Stereo Hearts", which reached the top 5 of the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2011.


From 2011 to 2019, Levine was a coach on NBC's reality talent show The Voice. The winners of multiple seasons (1, 5, and 9) belonged to his team. In 2012, Levine made his acting debut as the recurring character Leo Morrison in the second season of the television series American Horror Story. He also appeared in the films Begin Again (2013), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), Fun Mom Dinner and The Clapper (both 2017). Levine launched his eponymous fragrance line in 2013. The same year, he collaborated with Kmart and ShopYourWay.com to develop his menswear collection. He also owns a record label, 222 Records, and a production company, 222 Productions, which produced television shows Sugar and Songland. In 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that "sources familiar with his many business dealings" estimated Levine would earn more than $35 million that year.^[5]

Early life[edit]

Adam Noah Levine was born on March 18, 1979, in Los Angeles^[6] to Fredric Levine, the founder of retail chain M. Fredric, and Patsy (née Noah) Levine, an admissions counselor.^[5][7] They divorced when he was seven and Levine underwent therapy.^[8] Growing up, he spent weekdays with his mother and weekends with his father.^[9] He has a younger brother.^[10] Levine's father and maternal grandfather were Jewish, while his maternal grandmother was a Protestant.^[11] Levine considers himself Jewish;^[12] however, according to The Jewish Chronicle, he is spiritual but not religious. He chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah as a child because of the custom of receiving Bar Mitzvah gifts, explaining: "I felt as though a lot of kids were trying to cash in ... I just don't think it's the most respectful way to deal with God and beliefs and years and years and years of cultural heritage."^[9] Levine is a nephew of journalist and author Timothy Noah, and television producer and writer Peter Noah.^[13][14]


Levine describes his family as "very musical"^[15] and credits his mother with "start[ing] me out on the path."^[16] He also attributes his mother's idols – Simon & Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac, and The Beatles – to shaping his musical style, calling them "a huge part of my upbringing".^[9] Levine attended Brentwood School, where he met Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden, his future bandmates.^[17] He carried his musical interests to high school, where he states he was "a little rebellious. I didn't want to do the things they were teaching me ... [music] consumed my every thought."^[15]

Kara's Flowers[edit]

In February 1994, Levine, along with friends Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick formed garage band Kara's Flowers.^[18][19] In 1995, the group played their first gig at the Whisky a Go Go, a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, with Levine performing vocals and guitar.^[20] The band was discovered while they were performing in Malibu by independent producer Tommy Allen, who along with his partner John DeNicola, had them record an 11-track album.^[20] Owing to a string of industry showcases in Los Angeles, they were signed on to Reprise Records through producer Rob Cavallo.^[21]


In August 1997, the band released their first album, titled The Fourth World^[22] and also appeared on an episode of the drama series Beverly Hills, 90210.^[5] Despite high expectations,^[20] it had little success, selling about 5,000 copies.^[23] Reprise decided to drop the band after Cavallo's exit from the label.^[20][24] Disappointed with the results of their album, the band broke up.^[25][26] Later, Levine would say of the experience: "Kara's Flowers was just floating up the wall beneath the sticks. Make a record quickly, put it out. No touring base, no nothing. Just try to make it happen right out of the gate and it just doesn't work".^[27]