Maroon 5 officially formed in 2001 and were releasing their major label debut, Songs About Jane by June 2002. Although that seems quick, the album’s first single ‘Harder to Breathe’ was slow to impact at radio and mainstream attention didn’t come to the band until nearly 2 full years later. By March 2004, the single finally reached the Top 20 in Billboard, while the band continued to tour rigorously with anyone and everyone. For the next 3 years, Maroon 5 would continue to slowly release singles and tour, finding chart-topping success with ‘This Love,’ ‘She Will Be Loved’ and ‘Sunday Morning.’ For the last few weeks, Maroon 5 has seemingly been everywhere, performing on every televised stage available, scoring heavy rotation with the video for the new single ‘Makes Me Wonder,’ as well as picking up a strong internet buzz. Last week, the band released their sophomore effort for Octone/A&M called It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, which debuted at #1 selling 429,000 copies physically and 102,000 copies digitally, but if the past is any indication, this is just the beginning.

Not many labels will wait 2 years for a single impact, but then again, not many bands can ride the success of one album for more than 4 years and then follow it up with another strong release. Maroon 5 make it clear- slumps are for chumps. The band has come out swinging with this new album, playing up the dashing good looks of their frontman and sex appeal of their soulful new wave rock. They play every available stage effortlessly, confident in their live performance and songwriting. These guys aren’t in a hurry…they’re rockstars. When the songs are great, and the band is great, there is no rush. You can take your time and get the most out of the album, selling over 8 million copies and touring the globe many times over without hocking cell phones and soda or starting a clothing line. You can promote your new album by playing live for people instead of buying into cheesy gimmicks. Great musicians really can make it ‘all about the music,’ because the music is strong enough to rely on. Hopefully they’ll release another album before 2012, but who knows? Maybe the ‘5’ in the name is symbolic.