Adam Levine has defended his decision to play at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, in what has been a controversial 12 months for the NFL.
He and his Maroon 5 bandmates will play a set during this year’s Super Bowl, following in the footsteps of recent performers like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake.
However, their choice to accept the job was a bit of a controversial one, with reports suggesting Rihanna and Cardi B had turned down the chance to perform, amid the row between the NFL and player Colin Kaepernick, who last year made headlines with his refusal to stand for the National Anthem, in a protest against police brutality and institutional racism.
Unlike most acts who perform during the Super Bowl, Maroon 5 will not be taking part in a pre-game press conference, with frontman Adam Levine giving what is billed as his only interview about the gig to Entertainment Tonight.
When asked by the publication about those who felt their voices weren’t being heard, Adam insisted: “They will be.”
He continued: “That’s all I want to say because I don’t want to spoil anything. And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this. I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music.
“My life’s work and what I put out into the universe has been positive and hopefully inspiring … So, what I would say is, you know, we are going to do what we keep on doing, hopefully without becoming politicians and continuing to use the one voice we know how to use properly.”
He continued: “I think we wanted to make sure we were able to speak once again through the music, so yes, absolutely, once we processed these things, it took a lot of looking inward and introspection and I thought to myself, ‘What is my greatest tool, you know, what is the thing that I can use to express myself … the best way for the band to express themselves, and how are we going to do it this year? What do we owe ourselves, what do we owe the people?’”
Adam went on to say he is “beyond proud” of the show that has been put together, adding: “[I have] literally never, never been more excited in my entire life to present this to the people because I believe that it’s truly a reflection of all of us.”
This year’s Super Bowl will be held on Sunday night in Atlanta, Georgia, with Maroon 5’s performance to take place during the early hours of Monday morning here in the UK.
It’s thought they’ll be joined on stage by rappers Big Boi – who grew up in Atlanta – and Travis Scott.
Last year, Jay-Z bragged about having “said no to the Super Bowl” on his Beyoncé collaboration Apeshit, the music video for which featured football players “taking a knee”.