Adam Levine may be the hottest guy in music right now — famous for his tattoos and his supermodel girlfriends as much as for his band’s hit songs — and he may quite possibly be one of the nicest guys out there.
Two days ago, he did a photo shoot for Bench and photographer Mark Nicdao, who has worked with some of the biggest local stars here and shot some of Bench’s biggest campaigns since 2004, said it was so easy working with Levine. “He’s a superstar, a lot of people love him, and I thought there would be a lot of fuss and attitude, but it was a breeze,” said Nicdao.
Bench and Levine’s management team allotted four hours for the photo shoot — 15 layouts, 15 clothing changes. They were done in two hours.
“It was just so quick and easy. He’s such a pro,” said Nicdao.
Bench founder Ben Chan, who had just met Levine that morning, couldn’t be happier about the shoot — or about Levine’s attitude. “He loved the clothes. He even requested for the clothes to be given to him.”
Bench stylist Noel Manapat, who also styled the Bench Universe show last week, chose casual pieces for Levine. They range from jeans to basic tees and tank tops, a mix of Bench staples, current season and not-yet-released collections.
On why he decided to endorse Bench, Levine had this to say: “What’s really great is that the people we’re working with and the company are incredibly cool and the clothes are great. I wouldn’t endorse things I don’t like. I really love their clothes, it’s very cool stuff.”
Levine said that before agreeing to do any endorsement, “You really have to like what it is. It’s kinda tricky. It seems like that might be a bit of sellout. I don’t really feel like doing things unless I can endorse it and I really do have to endorse the things I am selling.”
His own style is a perfect fit for Bench: “I like basic things. I don’t like to do too much and I think that’s what Bench is all about. It’s kind of elegant, classic, simple and not over the top. I was excited to steal all the clothes from the photo shoot, which was amazing and fast. It was good chemistry between everybody and it was really special.”
How did Bench get Levine to endorse the brand? Chan says as part of the brand’s 25th anniversary, they wanted to get the hottest and biggest stars and Levine is all that. “So why not?” Chan said. Plus, Chan is a fan of Maroon 5 (he had front-row seats at the concert), and so for about six months they pursued Levine to endorse the brand. They sent his agents past Bench campaigns for them to get to know Bench and see if it was the right fit for Levine — they sent past campaigns of endorsers such as Bruno Mars, Nicole Scherzinger, K-Pop stars and one that’s about to be debuted soon — American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez.
Manila seems to have grown on Levine as well. This is Maroon 5’s third concert here; the first being in 2008 to promote their second album, “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” and in 2011 they came back for their “Hands All Over” tour. And now for their “Overexposed” album, a dig at their own “overexposure.”
“It’s crazy. We got the best fans here,” he said when we told him how the concert sold out in a few days and their concert tour schedule revealed that all other venues in Asian — like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong — were still open. “There’s a lot of energy at our Manila concerts. We know that the fans here have a lot of passion and energy and it’s cool to give it back to them.”
The stage, it seems, is where Adam Levine has always been destined to be — whether it’s in monster venues or runway shows for Victoria’s Secret. “Playing live music is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. Being onstage, that’s me in my most natural element — performing and singing. Having fans is itself amazing and I love performing for them. I appreciate it. It’s my true passion in life. I love everything about music. If I didn’t have the ability to play music, I wouldn’t be a very happy person. It was just a part of growing up.”
Levine grew up in Los Angeles, where he formed a garage band in high school called Kara’s Flowers and released their album in 1997. In 2002, as Maroon 5, they released their album “Songs About Jane,” which went platinum around the world. It’s said that the songs were about an ex-girlfriend of Levine. Much like Adele’s album “21,” also about an ex, “Jane” spawned multiple hits. Music videos from that album — with some steamy scenes — were the beginnings of Levine becoming a superstar and sex symbol.
Asked about Mick Jagger’s reaction to their hit song Moves Like Jagger, Levine laughed and said, “I don’t know. I think he likes it. I know he doesn’t hate it. That’s a good thing.”
Moves Like Jagger may perhaps be one of the most viewed Maroon 5 videos on YouTube — not the official video, but the one where the band sang during a Victoria’s Secret show last year, where his then girlfriend, supermodel Anne Vyalitsyna, sashayed down the runway and Levine gave her a surprise kiss.
Vyalitsyna also starred in Maroon 5’s Misery video, where she happily beat up Levine, threw a flamethrower at him, banged his head on a toilet door, and pushed his head down a toilet bowl. It is a strangely funny and sexy video
Their most famous pictures together — apart from editorial in Russian Vogue — were for an awareness campaign for testicular cancer, in which a naked — and very much inked — Levine has his private parts covered by his girlfriend’s hands.
The pair met at a 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue party where Maroon 5 performed. They broke up early this year and Levine is now reportedly dating Namibian Behati Prinsloo, also a Victoria’s Secret supermodel. Levine’s love life is a favorite topic of his fans — his having dated women such as Jessica Simpson, Maria Sharapova, Cameron Diaz, Janine Habeck, Angela Bellotte and Arielle Vandenburg just makes for good copy.
Another woman is linked to Levine — Christina Aguilera, his co-judge on the reality show The Voice and collaborator on Moves Like Jagger. Levine said he never thought he would like doing a show like The Voice, but he has grown to love it. “The Voice is fun, it’s different. Something like this might not seem the greatest thing, but it’s actually been an amazing experience. It’s so inspiring, so much fun, and really incredible. It’s kinda changed my life in a way. It’s made me love music in a different way — as someone that can guide and coach and encourage others. Because music is a very selfish thing. You play music and it’s an extension of yourself. But to be able to help others in their craft, as vocalists or musicians, it’s really cool. I like being part of the process, of being on the other side of it.”
And what would be his advice to aspiring singers in the Philippines? “Doesn’t Manny Pacquiao sing?” he said, and added with a laugh, “Manny Pacquiao is a singer as much as I am a boxer.”
How does he choose whom to mentor on The Voice? “Just my gut instinct. If something inspires me, if I like something, I just press the button.”
And, no, he wasn’t mentored in a formal way, the way he is doing now to these singers trying to break into music. “But I definitely had mentors, people who came into my life and gave me advice and guided me along — my parents, friends, family, musicians.” His bandmates, he said, are like his brothers. “And like real brothers we fight a lot, but at the end of the day you’re gonna be okay.”
Asked how many tattoos he has on his body, Levine looked at his left arm during the interview and said, “I don’t know how many, this has just turned into one (pointing to his left arm). My favorite tattoo is this (pointing to his right arm), I always get a lot of compliments on the tiger.”
How many songs does he have on his iPod? “A billion,” he said, then shook he head. “Twenty million? I don’t know, as many as I can fit.” Surprisingly, when he’s flying between cities on tour, he doesn’t listen much to music. “I listen to music at home. Anytime I ever walk in the door, music. Always, always. A lot of reggae music these days.”
But that one CD he would bring if he was ever stuck on a desert island — there was no hesitation when he said, “’Abbey Road.’ The Beatles.”