Adam Levine Says The Voice 'Really Changed' His Career, Making Him a 'Household Name'
Adam Levine was a huge star before The Voice, but the popular singing competition show took things to a new level for him.
While promoting Maroon 5’s new single “Memories” on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music’s Beats 1 show, the 40-year-old frontman reflected on how much had changed for him as an artist over the years.
“I think when the band made [first album Songs About Jane] and had that all going on in the early 2000s, I think I was really young and also, it was a different time,” he said, noting that “not everyone had a camera on them at all times and you enjoyed a certain kind of privacy.”
“Then being on The Voice and stuff really changed that even more,” he added, noting that these days even “people’s grandparents” know who he is.
“It kind of launched me into the bizarre territory of being, I guess for lack of a better phrase, a household name.”
RELATED: Gwen Stefani Is ‘So Happy to Be Back’ with Her Boyfriend — and ‘Best Friend Blakey’ — on The Voice
Since first stepping into one of the show’s famous revolving chairs when the series debuted in April 2011, Levine served as a judge for 16 seasons before announcing his departure earlier this year.
“About 8 years ago, Mark Burnett convinced us to sign up for this show where you sit in a big red chair with your back turned away from the singers on the stage,” he wrote on Instagram in May, noting that at the time “we had no idea what we were doing or where it was going.”
“After the first day of shooting, I sat there, stunned. I said to myself ‘there’s some magic here. Something is definitely happening.’ It went on to be a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever,” he continued, adding that it was simply “time to move on.”
The new season, which will begin airing on Monday, includes original judge Blake Shelton, as well as Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson.
Opening up about the band’s new song, Levine told Lowe that song was a product of a conscious desire to change things up.
“For roughly 20 years, almost, I’ve been writing songs about relationships, successes, failures and in that world,” he said, noting that their video for No. 1 hit “Girls Like You” was a game-changer.
“I think the ‘Girls Like You’ thing switched my brain onto a different thought pattern considering the fact that the song was just a silly love song, but then the video was really powerful and impactful and a stretch for us in a really good way,” he continued. “So then I think when it came time to think of another song, we thought, “Okay, hey, let’s try to write a song that’s not about girls.’ ”
