Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band that originated in Los Angeles, California. Before the group was formed the original four members of then 1994 band were known as Kara's Flowers while its members were still in high school and originally consisted of Adam Levine (lead vocals, guitar), Jesse Carmichael (guitar, backing vocals) Mickey Madden (bass guitar) and Ryan Dusick (drums). The band, which self-released an album called We Like Digging?, was named after a girl the group had a crush on. They signed to Reprise Records and released an album, The Fourth World, in 1997. After a tepid response to the album, the band parted ways with the record label and the members attended college.

In 2001, the band changed their image by adding guitarist James Valentine and pursuing a new direction under the name Maroon 5. At this point, Carmichael switched to playing keyboards, which has since become his main instrument in the band. After these changes, Maroon 5 signed with Octone Records and released their debut album, Songs About Jane, in June 2002. The album's lead single, "Harder to Breathe", received heavy airplay, which helped the album to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005. For the next few years, they toured extensively worldwide in support of Songs About Jane and produced two live recordings: 2004's 1.22.03.Acoustic and 2005's Live – Friday the 13th. In 2006, Dusick officially left Maroon 5 after suffering from serious wrist and shoulder injuries and was replaced by Matt Flynn. The band then recorded their second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long and released it in May 2007. The album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and the lead single, "Makes Me Wonder", became the band's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

In September 2010, Maroon 5 released their third studio album Hands All Over, which was re-released in 2011 to include the single "Moves like Jagger". While the original version of the album received mixed reviews, "Moves like Jagger" reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100. The band released their fourth album, Overexposed, on June 26, 2012. All four singles of the album were highly successful on the Billboard Hot 100, including second single "One More Night", which reached number one. In 2014, the band signed with Interscope Records and released their fifth studio album, V. The album, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, was recorded with the very-first line-up of six official band members, as keyboardist and backing vocalist PJ Morton became an official member in 2012. The same year, a longtime friend of the band and the bass player of Phantom Planet, Sam Farrar, became an official touring member, playing many different instruments (including guitars, percussion and additional keyboards), singing backing vocals and also providing samples on the MPC. Maroon 5 has sold more than 27 million albums and 48 million singles worldwide.