Makes Me Wonder
"Makes Me Wonder" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on March 27, 2007, as the first single from their second studio album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007). Upon its release, the song set a record for the biggest jump to number-one in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, rising from number 64 to number one. However, the record was later broken by Britney Spears’ 2008 single “Womanizer which was broken by Kelly Clarkson's 2009 single, "My Life Would Suck Without You".
For the song by Ella Mai, see Ready (Ella Mai EP)."Makes Me Wonder"
"Makes Me Wonder" also became the band's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 50th Grammy Awards, their second song to win the award. The song was among the most successful of 2007, and was their biggest hit until the release of "Moves like Jagger" by the band in 2011.
Despite the song's commercial success, critical reception was mixed. It was ranked No. 49 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. Billboard crowned the song #1 in its 2022 ranking of the ten best Maroon 5 songs of all time.[4]
Production and music[edit]
Prior to "Makes Me Wonder", producer Mark Endert had contributed to the band's debut album, Songs About Jane, in which he provided additional production to and mixed the hit single "This Love". Having worked on a song called "Wake Up Call" for the new album, Endert's involvement transitioned to "Makes Me Wonder". Maroon 5, having re-examined the song, asked Endert to assist them on a track which they did not like. To Endert, the band did not "feel like they had realized its potential". However, "They were open to new ideas, so I had the freedom to go and look for a new approach."[7]
Working on the new material, Endert produced a mockup for the track's arrangement, a process he normally does as a producer. Using his Logic system at Scream Studios, he programmed the keyboards, bass, guitars on an old '80s Roland. When done, Endert flew to Los Angeles to present to the band the track, to which they approved. Endert and the band went to the Sunset Sound studio where they added track and "replaced any parts in Logic that were considered band instruments", resulting to it sounding like Maroon 5's.[7]
According to producer Mark Endert, the idea was to make the song's music contemporary and urban. Meanwhile, they wanted to render it classic by making references to '70s and early '80s sound.[7] Its music changed from "a more rock 'n' roll feel to a '70s funk vibe".[6]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, discussing the identity of Maroon 5's music, noted that "Makes Me Wonder", even with its "flash[y] production", is not about its "feel" but the song itself that makes the album "work".[10] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times called "Makes Me Wonder" an "aggravatingly danceable track".[11]
For Neil Drumming of Entertainment Weekly, Levine seems "detached ... cold even" in the song, adding that "there's a twisted logic to his dispassionate delivery".[12] Wrote Rosie Swash of The Guardian, "'Makes Me Wonder' is so bland it's offensive."[13] Robert Christgau, in his review for Rolling Stone, noted the "political subtext" of the song.[14]
The band won their third Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Makes Me Wonder" at the 50th anniversary show of the Grammys on February 10, 2008. It was their second win in this category after "This Love".
Chart performance[edit]
The song has had one of the biggest bullets in Hot Adult history, with many AC radio stations putting it into heavy rotation mere days after its release. The song reached number 11 on the U.S. Adult Top 40 after only two weeks on the chart, becoming only the third song since 2000 to reach the top 15 of the Adult Top 40 in two weeks or less.[15]
In the Billboard magazine issue dated May 12, 2007, Maroon 5 scored their first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, due to strong radio airplay and 243,500 digital downloads. By doing so, they broke a record held by Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" for the biggest jump to number one in Hot 100 history, leaping from number 64 to number one (Clarkson's single had jumped from number 52 in October 2002).[16] "Makes Me Wonder" remained at number one for a second week[17] before falling to number two[18] and then returning to number one in the following week.[19] As of June 2014, it has sold 2,923,000 downloads in the US alone.[20]
In the UK, the song debuted at number 19 with downloads alone a week before its physical release and rose to number 2 the second week, kept off the top spot by Rihanna's "Umbrella". In Mexico, it went on to sell over 420,000 digital downloads.[21]
Live performances[edit]
Maroon 5 performed "Makes Me Wonder" for the first time at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards on March 31, 2007.[22] Later, they continued with the song at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards on June 17, and Canadian Idol on August 14, respectively. Maroon 5 performed "Makes Me Wonder" for their ten-date Club Tour from April to June 2007, and the It Won't Be Soon Before Long Tour (2007–2008). The band played with the song live in their various appearances such as American Idol, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rove and TRL.
Appearances in other media[edit]
The song was featured in the television shows Ghost Whisperer, The Hills and Beat Shazam, as well as for the trailer of 27 Dresses (2008). An acoustic version of the song was featured on Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2 and the remix versions by Stargate featuring Mims and Just Blaze (with the latter was included on Call and Response: The Remix Album). The song was featured on the video games Speed Drifters, Lips and Boogie Superstar. This song was used on the dance video game Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 and was covered by the artist Sunshine Superman. It is also included on Grammy Nominees 2008 and Maroon 5's greatest hits album Singles (2015).