To music critics, Adam Levine isn’t an easy person to like. We get it. The Maroon 5 singer and judge on The Voice dates only supermodels (subtract 5 points), stars on a reality TV show (subtract 10 points) and gives detestable quotes like these (subtract 20 points).
The 33-year-old frontman and his band have reached insane levels of mass sales with songs like “Moves Like Jagger,” featuring Levine’s co-judge Christina Aguilera, which topped charts in 18 countries and has sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. But they still can’t get a good review from a majority of critics.
Not that the band has ever been considered edgy but as their sound has become more commercial, more radio-friendly and more auto-tuned, the reviews have gotten more brutal. Now, their new album “Overexposed,” which hit stores on Tuesday, has raised the hate levels up one notch. The worst of the worst reviews? Read on:
“Overexposed is a hit-seeking missile that doesn’t just slaughter Maroon 5’s reputation for sincerity, it festoons its corpse with glitter, hairspray and Hello Kitty Stickers.” — The Washington Post (Ouch. Tell us how you really feel, WashPo!)
“Once a real live band whose humanity, however glossy it might have been, could be verified by its mostly organic sound, Maroon 5 now appears to have converted into a silicone simulacrum of its former self with “Overexposed,” a collection of faceless android pop guaranteed to sound exactly like all the songs sequenced around it on Top 40 radio.” — News OK
“Another word for the color ‘maroon’ is ‘plum.’ The sooner this bunch of plums fade back into obscurity, the better.” — UK’s Independent
“Why are Maroon 5 still the MOR mavens you can’t defend to your mates? Because Adam Levine still sings like Sting with blue balls.” — NME
“If (like me) you thought that it was virtually impossible for an act as shamelessly commercial as Maroon 5 to ‘sell out,’ think again.” — Ultimate-Guitar.com
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[Photo: Wenn]
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