Does Maroon 5’s New Video Forgive “Animal?”

By  |  18 Comments

after i watched maroon 5’s new video, mixed feelings happened inside me. i swore off maroon 5 after their song/video “animal” was released in october 2014. don’t get me wrong, i find adam levine insanely attractive (don’t worry, my husband is already aware of this) even though i hear he’s sort of a cocky jerk but that song crossed the line. i watched the first 2:15 minutes of the video and decided that i would not finish the rest nor would i listen to this song when it came on the radio.

“baby i’m preying on you tonight, hunt you down, eat you alive…”

i am intentionally not posting the video because i find it that disturbing on multiple levels so feel free to google it yourself.

i can’t get behind artists/bands that sing about stalking women. the world is scary enough without maroon 5 romanticizing stalking and breaking into homes to take pictures or lay in a woman’s bed. i don’t like it and i made a choice not to consume it.

it makes me sad that easily influenced young girls and boys see this and think it’s sexy/normal/cool even if gross. the video contains adam levine covered in blood and literally hanging around with bloody carcasses in between stalking a woman, who is also his real-life wife.

Animal Vs. Surgar

my husband agreed with the grossness ‘animal’ portrayed on multiple levels and he also turned it off any time it came on in the car.

then about 10 minutes ago, he was like “babe! watch the new maroon 5 video. i’m not sure if they did it so people would like them more after the last one but i hate to admit, it’s pretty good.

i pondered and then decided to check it out.

it’s called “sugar” and he was right, it is good and totally made me smile. i forgot all about the horrid last video that i despised just a few months ago and now i’m wanting to renew our wedding vows in hopes that they come crash our wedding! how does this even happen?!

the chef at 2:12 and the dad dancing at 2:47 are my favorite.

apparently they really did crash these weddings over a three day period and only the grooms knew what was going on.

now i feel all weird inside because i really like this new song and how happy the couples were. i still however hate that over 93,000,00 have been exposed to “animal” because what is portrayed in it is absolutely not okay.

what do you think?

questions:
1) do you think maroon 5’s new video “sugar” makes the grossness in “animal” excusable and they should be liked again?
2) what goes through your mind when you see celebrities making terrible choices that influence our society?
3) what band would you love to be surprised with on your wedding day?

18 Comments

  1. Elizabeth T

    January 15, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    I absolutely hated the music video for “Animal”–it was disgusting on multiple levels for me which was sad because I have always loved Maroon 5. However this music video gives me all the feels seeing how excited everyone is (if Maroon 5 would have decided to crash my wedding I would definitely not have objected!) and now I’m conflicted too!
    Elizabeth T recently posted…Six Ideas to Jumpstart Date Night

    • chelsea

      January 15, 2015 at 6:31 pm

      it’s SO bad elizabeth! i was very upset when i saw it too! thanks for chiming so i know i’m not alone in this conundrum.

  2. Paula Howley

    January 15, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Makes you wonder. As an artist, you want to explore ALL sides of yourself to be honest- to grow.
    As a celebrity, like it or not, you have sway over the public psyche. The ‘great privilege/great responsibility’ thing.
    perhaps the darker explorations should be kept personal?

    BTW, I think he is insanely hot too.
    Paula Howley recently posted…Head Start Public Speaking For Kids Week 11- Speech PAR-TAY!!!!

    • chelsea

      January 15, 2015 at 6:33 pm

      good points paula that artists should be exploring all sides to be honest and grow. even bigger point that celebrities do have sway over ‘the public psyche’ like the you say and i am putting a huge fat RESPONSIBILITY on them to use it wisely.

      he’s so hot it’s unfair.

  3. Nina

    January 15, 2015 at 10:55 pm

    I would want Maroon 5 to surprise me on my wedding day, and my boyfriend would want Coldplay. I feel like my man would not appreciate Adam Levine appearing in the flesh right before our wedding night though. . .

    But yes, I hated the video to Animals, and I can’t even listen to the song anymore. Artistic license or whatever, it was disgusting and disturbing. Wrong on so many levels.
    Nina recently posted…Advice for my Sisters

    • chelsea

      January 16, 2015 at 8:30 am

      hahah well adam levine does have some good flesh on him (that sounds weird but it’s true). totally agree with you that it’s wrong on so many level, nina! if he comes to your wedding…please invite me. i won’t even get too crazy πŸ™‚

    • Paula Howley

      January 16, 2015 at 9:42 am

      OOOH, just have to respond to this as well. Your man DOES have to be awfully secure in himself to invite Adam Levine to the reception.
      He could be the hottest man on the planet. He’s taking a big chance that images of Levine might just be in your head on wedding night.

      PLUS, really, that’s all anyone is EVER gonna talk about about the wedding after that. No “Hey did you see Uncle Fred coming on to Scott?” or “Jackie was so wasted she was making out with one of the waiters” or “Your dress was so beautiful! I thought I was going to cry at the father daughter dance!”
      Nope- It’s gonna be all “Did you see when ADAM LOOKED AT ME?????”
      Paula Howley recently posted…Head Start Public Speaking For Kids Week 11- Speech PAR-TAY!!!!

  4. Pingback: Spreading Blogger Love! • the new wifestyle

  5. Claire

    January 16, 2015 at 9:49 am

    I’m honestly not a lyrics person, so I didn’t notice that part of Animals until the Internet told me about it. I really didn’t like the sound of the song though, it wasn’t the Maroon 5 sound I know and love.

    I agree with Paula’s point about artistic license. The band chose to write/record the song, Adam Levine and his wife (a model, so this role could arguably be her artistic expression as well) obviously felt it was okay for their relationship, so that doesn’t bother me. I think it’s more of an issue about how we put celebrity messages on a different pedestal than we put lesser known artists with similarly controversial pieces. I don’t think Adam – or many of our other pop stars for that matter – signed up to be role models, their passion just happened to find huge commercial success. If the same song were played at a club in LA we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.

    I’ll get down from my soap box now… πŸ™‚

    • chelsea

      January 16, 2015 at 12:28 pm

      oh i am a big lyric person! sometimes when i hear a new song i immediately google the lyrics to read along with it-ha! thanks claire for sharing your thoughts on what the band chose to write and record. i do agree with some of those points and i think it’s INSANE how much we as a society value popstars/celebrities/professional athletes. i would rather that acknowledgement be on others but that’s another story.

      i think whether or not they signed up to be role models, they are now and they have influence over our society. i do think this gives them an added responsibility (whether they want it or not) to be conscious of what they are putting out in the world. dueling soap boxes πŸ™‚

  6. Amanda Wood

    January 16, 2015 at 10:28 am

    How cool would that be? The chef’s face is priceless! I haven’t seen the Animals video yet, and from what I hear about it, I don’t want to. It’s not my favorite song by them, but I do like this one.
    Amanda Wood recently posted…Blogger Love – January 16th

    • chelsea

      January 16, 2015 at 12:25 pm

      yeah you don’t need to see the animal one but this one is super cute! i rewinded the chef’s part at least 5 times because it was cracking me up!

  7. Sarah

    January 17, 2015 at 4:29 am

    Anyone who writes/performs a song (or anything for that matter) that monetizes or promotes violence against women gets a veto in my book. Pop songs are such a dime a dozen (I’m not hating on pop music by the way, I love me some Taylor Swift) that I don’t feel it’s a huge sacrifice to no longer support Maroon Five based on their choice to contribute to rape culture.
    Also, I may be a jaded old lady but I really don’t think the video is genuine. Those reactions were way too perfectly enthusiastic.

    Who would I like to sing at my wedding? Taylor Swift all day, every day. Have you seen the video of her sending her fans Christmas gifts? Talk about all the feels!

    • chelsea

      January 17, 2015 at 4:44 pm

      yes good point, especially the ‘monetizing’ point sarah! thanks for your thoughts on this! and to focus on happy pop music that doesn’t contribute to rape culture…that video of taylor swift sending christmas gifts was SO good! totally cried. she’s good!

  8. Courtney! @ Redefining Athlete

    January 19, 2015 at 9:38 am

    While I probably would not have passed up the chance to have *Nsync reunite for my wedding, I’m not sure how I feel about Sugar. I mean, it is cute and I even teared up a little bit… but I love love love whenever someone tells me that they liked our personal vows, or the penguin cake topper, or how much we both cried and how in love we looked.. I think I would ultimately have regretted having something overshadow the point of the day.

    I can’t decide if that sounds a little too self-involved or not (ALL ABOUT MEEEE).. I want people to remember our day for us, not for the killer concert.
    Courtney! @ Redefining Athlete recently posted…Disney Bound! & A Runner’s Guide to Kansas City!

    • chelsea

      January 20, 2015 at 10:51 am

      super good point, courtney! you wouldn’t want the band to steal the show and take away from the great love the two of you share. i hadn’t thought of it that way. but i mean…n’sync would still be super solid πŸ™‚

      i don’t think it’s too self-involved at all to want people to remember YOUR wedding about YOU!

  9. Vivien

    January 19, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    I’m on the fence about this one. I don’t know the full lyrics of the song (and sounds like I don’t want to). I have heard the outrage over the video, so that was something I never looked up either.

    As for the video itself, I am curious to know what the process was from start to finish. Does Maroon 5 get blame for writing such offensive song lyrics and making that video? I would say yes. But at the same time I know there’s likely a HUGE team working behind them, everyone from the Director to the makeup artists to the guy that makes sure the coffee is hot. Who was the visionary? Who/how was it decided to give the green light? Did the executives at the label company for example think it was a good idea? I think in this case the blame should be shared by more than one party. Just my two cents.
    Vivien recently posted…Speaker’s Showcase: The Morning After

    • chelsea

      January 20, 2015 at 10:49 am

      yeah i think about that too when there are racist/sexist/terrible things produced by companies because you’re right…there is a whole team around it vivien! why wouldn’t someone stop it at some point down the line?? appreciate your two cents because i think there is lots of people who have responsibility for this but i still think maroon 5 has the most because they are at the forefront of it!