Marooned in Shanghai

The return of Maroon 5 to Shanghai after four years is in support of its new album, Overexposed, Zhang Kun reports in Shanghai.

The last time Maroon 5 did a gig in Shanghai, the audience seemed to know the words to every song, which is partly why the Grammy-award winning American band is returning four years later.

Mid-way through a world tour in support of their new album Overexposed, Shanghai will be the band's only stop on the mainland. The show will be held at the Mercedez-Benz Arena on Sept 25, followed by a Hong Kong concert on Sept 27.

"We can't wait to come out there and perform for you guys. It's been a while and we're excited to debut to you guys our new show and play our new songs," Maroon 5 said in an e-mail statement to China Daily.

Maroon 5 was founded in 1997 by high school friends from Los Angles California. The five members are: vocal Adam Levine, guitarist James Valentine, bassist Mickey Madden, drummer Matt Flynn and keyboardist PJ Morton (currently filling in for Jesse Carmichael, who's on hiatus). The band started to gain recognition in 2004 and since then has won three Grammy awards and received nine nominations.

According to the band's China fan club on Baidu.com, with 6,000 members, the most popular Maroon 5 hits are Payphone (featuring Wiz Khalifa), Moves Like Jagger (featuring Christina Aguilera), This Love and She Will Be Loved. The band's most popular hit Moves Like Jagger has sold more than 8.5 million copies worldwide.

"We aren't just limited to pop, if you see us perform live we rock out, and we're able to do all types of music. We like to break out from what we normally do and showcase different styles," Maroon 5 said.

Levine added in the e-mail interview that of all the band's albums, Overexposed feels "both most and least like Maroon 5. There are lots of traces of the past, but it also hints at a new idea."

"More than anything, I think this record says that it's always cool to try - that you should always be willing to take a step beyond whatever feels comfortable."

An American alternative rock band, The Cab, are touring with Maroon 5 for the concerts in China.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn.