Maroon 5s Adam Levine Thanks Fans and The Universe in Post-Super Bowl Message

blog

Following a controversy-filled Super Bowl halftime performance — although the performance itself worked hard to be uncontroversial — Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine posted a note on Instagram sharing his thoughts on the occasion. (Read Variety’s review of the performance here.)

Along with a photo showing the “One Love” light display that took place during the set, Levine wrote, “When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the SBHTS, I took out my pen and just wrote. Some of the words that came to me in that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight. We thank the universe for this historic opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage. We thank our fans for making our dreams possible. And we thank our critics for always pushing us to do better. One Love.”

Related Stories

Illustration of a video game controller surrounded by a recycle icon VIP+

‘Until Dawn,’ ‘Silent Hill 2’ Remakes Show Relevancy of Retreading IP

Richard Gadd as Donny Dunn and Jessica Gunning as Martha Scott in "Baby Reindeer"

Judge Rules 'Baby Reindeer' Was Not a 'True Story,' Allows Real Martha to Sue Netflix

The words that followed were: forgive, laugh, cry, smile, share, live, endure, embrace, remember, enlighten, preserve, inspire, sweat, fight, express, give, receive, elevate, climb, unify, fortify, soften, dance, scream, dream, educate, provide, inhale, exhale, persevere, stand, knee, overcome, love, listen.

Popular on Variety

With the 14-minute long performance, months of will-they-or-won’t-they speculation was put to rest once performers Maroon 5, along with guests Travis Scott and Big Boi took the field. The band’s participation in the show had come under fire in recent weeks because performing during the game — which is the biggest global stage for a musician, with an estimated 100 million viewers — is effectively an endorsement of the National Football League’s treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The league’s stance toward the athlete, who has not played professionally since his controversial stance to “take a knee” during the National Anthem before games, has polarized audiences and significantly complicated this year’s halftime performance, among many other issues. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight last week, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine said the band “expected” the backlash.

To counter criticism, Scott announced that in partnership with the NFL, he will make a $500,000 donation to the non-profit organization Dream Corps, among “other initiatives that he will work with the League on.” Maroon 5 also pledged the same amount to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Levine (@adamlevine)

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXKFjqasrKGTZLumw9JopJqqn6S7boHSZpidmZ1iuabCyKecZqyYlrusv4yfmKerXZa7pXnToZxmrZ6ew6a%2B0p5koqZdpby0wIysrKmdomKvsMPLZqSeq6OWtKZ5kGtnbGlibIFzhI4%3D