Sugar (Maroon 5 song)
"Sugar" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 for their fifth studio album V (2014). It was written by Mike Posner, Adam Levine, Dr. Luke, and Jacob Kasher Hindlin together with its producers Ammo and Cirkut. It was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States, as the third single from the album on January 13, 2015. "Sugar" is a disco, funk-pop, and soul song that features a wide range of instruments including percussion, keyboards and guitars. Commercially, the song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the band's third top 10 single from V, and eighth consecutive top 10 entry. "Sugar" is the 68th song in history to score at least 20 weeks in the top 10 of the Hot 100. The song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2022, as their third certified single.[1]
"Sugar"
January 13, 2015
2014
- Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood
- Luke's in the Boo, Malibu
- The Mothership, Sherman Oaks
3:55
Film director David Dobkin, shot the accompanying music video for the single in Los Angeles. Inspired by the 2005 romantic comedy Wedding Crashers, it features Maroon 5 crashing weddings that happened in the city. The video premiered on January 14, 2015, and received its television premiere on January 17. A reality television series based on the music video was released on YouTube in August 2018.[2] The remix versions of the song were released, one featuring rapper Nicki Minaj on March 10,[3] and the other by Matt Medved (also known as Sicarii) on November 9, 2015,[4] respectively.
"Sugar" received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards.
Critical reception[edit]
In a review of V, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the best moments on the album "are when Maroon 5 embrace the tuneful, slightly soulful adult contemporary pop band they've always been, as they do on 'Sugar'" among other songs.[20] Alexa Tietjen of VH1 stated that the track is a "radio-friendly pop song".[21] Mike Wass of Idolator labeled the song a "ridiculously catchy jam".[9] Similarly, Saeed Saeed of The National called the song a "highlight" on V and further wrote that it "has a bullseye of a chorus that will have you singing along immediately".[22] PopMatters' Annie Galvin praised the song and wrote that it "hits a sweet spot by layering a subtly funky guitar pulse over gossamer synths and multiple tracks of Levine's easy-on-the-ears upper range".[13] On the negative side, Anderson of Entertainment Weekly called the song "simultaneously empty and cluttered".[12] In 2022, Billboard and American Songwriter ranked the song number eight and number nine, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Maroon 5 songs.[23][24]
Chart performance[edit]
Following the release of V, "Sugar" debuted and peaked at number 13[25] and number 77[26] on the South Korean International and South Korean Gaon Chart respectively. After the song and its accompanying video was released, it gathered attention at the digital media outlets. Billboard predicted that in its first week the song is set to debut in the top 25 with digital sales of over 150,000 copies.[27] For the week dated January 31, 2015, "Sugar" debuted at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became Maroon 5's third song to debut in the top ten of the chart; their previous singles "Moves like Jagger" (2011) debuted same at number eight and "Payphone" (2012) debuted higher, at number three.[28] Consequently, it became the band's 11th top ten hit and their eighth in row.[29] The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart, their second number one after "Maps" (2014).[30] "Sugar" peaked at number two on the chart for four consecutive weeks, behind "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. The song spent 21 weeks in the top ten of the chart before falling 10–12 on the chart issue dated June 27, 2015. This marks the longest time the band has spent in the top ten of the chart, along with "Moves Like Jagger" and "One More Night" (2012), which also spent 21 weeks in the top ten. They have since surpassed this feat with their "Girls Like You" single featuring Cardi B in 2018, which spent more than 30 weeks in the top ten. As of August 2015, it has sold 3.3 million copies in the United States.[31]
In other media[edit]
"Sugar" was featured on the television shows, American Housewife, Bull, Stalker, Lip Sync Battle and Dancing with the Stars. It is also featured on the advertisements with two 2015 vehicles namely, the Nissan GT-R[69] and the Toyota Corolla Altis.[70] It appeared in the YouTube Premium web television series of the same name. The song appeared on the band's greatest hits album Singles[71] and the dance rhythm video game Just Dance 2019.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of V.[7]
Locations
Personnel