Maroon 5 is the only living band in the industry, according to frontman Adam Levine.
After a four-year hiatus, the band debuted their new single “Beautiful Mistakes,” featuring hip-hop hitmaker Megan Thee Stallion, along with the news that their seventh studio album is “not far off,” Levine told Apple Music host Zane Lowe during an interview Wednesday.
For the past 16 seasons, Levine garnered immense exposure — and no doubt an immense paycheck — as a judge and performance coach on NBC’s talent competition show “The Voice.”
And with all that time spent training up-and-coming solo artists, it would seem that Levine forgot that some musicians still find fame by more conventional means — such as joining a band and hammering out songs until the industry takes a shine to you.
The 41-year-old lead singer of Maroon 5 — a group that became ubiquitous in the early 2000s after a decade of gigging around Los Angeles since 1994 — ought to know something about that. Yet his comments during Lowe’s interview indicate otherwise.
“I feel like there aren’t any bands anymore, you know?,” he said, reminiscing about Maroon 5’s origins.
“That’s the thing that makes me kind of sad, is that there were just bands,” he continued, having apparently forgotten that bands such as HAIM, Vampire Weekend and Cage the Elephant are scooping up accolades elsewhere, including the Grammy Awards. “There’s no bands anymore, and I feel like they’re a dying breed.”
Music fans hadn’t forgotten either.
“this just in: adam levine doesn’t listen to music,” said one Twitter user in response to Levine’s comments.
“adam levine doesnt know genres other than top 40 exist,” added another. Indeed, musical groups — specifically those that perform and record their own instrumentation — have apparently fallen out of favor on Billboard’s Hot 100 as of late, where only five bands appear currently.
Perhaps inadvertently driving Levine’s point home — that the industry needs more musical ensembles — Scottish alt-rocker Shirley Manson, whose band Garbage came-up in the mid-90s, responded, “What are we Adam Levine? CATS?!?!”
The Twitter account for early-aughts rock band Eve 6, who just released new music after nine years off (and another nine before that) also chimed-in to say what many may be thinking: “Adam Levine there are like 500k bands and they all think yer a nerd.”
Perhaps sensing his own obtuseness, Levine attempted to clarify that notion: “I mean, there still are plenty of bands. And maybe they’re not in the limelight quite as much, or in the pop limelight, but I wish there could be more of those around.”
