Photo by Art Streiber, ? NBCUniversal, Inc.
Adam Levine is finding fame is different now that he's more than only a rock star.
PASADENA, Calif. — Adam Levine noticed it around the supermarket at first.
"I was aware of the term 'TV famous,' but I was all right being on the other side, kind of not known as much," says the 32-year-old native Californian, who is no stranger to fans approaching him as the frontman of the platinum-selling band Maroon 5.
As a judge on "The Voice," which is launching its second season after the Super Bowl on Sunday night, Levine is discovering celebrity has an evolution all its own. Being a rock star is one thing. Being a TV personality is an entirely new process for him. People notice more — and care what he does.
"I was used to what was suddenly happening to me after being in a band for many, many years," says Levine, "but, still, this is new for me."
He was on tour in Southeast Asia last year when NBC's reality competition "The Voice" caught on there, and then his fame evolved. "Suddenly, more people started noticing me, like, at the supermarket," he says. "I know that sounds weird, but they did."
In 2011, "The Voice" was the biggest new series NBC launched in a decade. Around East Tennessee, the series was a solid hit as well, holding its own against local favorites such as "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars." By season's end, "The Voice" turned out to be the most popular new series of 2011 in the Knoxville market.
As "The Voice" gained traction everywhere, media was more interested in Levine's personal life, where he was going and what he was up to. As the guy in Maroon 5, he thought the media really didn't care about such things. Now as a judge on "The Voice," they do.
"There was a spike in people wanting to know what I do," Levine says. "I'm fine with it. I don't really care. It comes with it."
Photo by Lewis Jacobs
Adam Levine, right, performs with fellow judges on "The Voice," from left, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.
Even when "The Voice" came along, Maroon 5 was hardly washed up. The band had secured hefty radio play in recent years with "Harder to Breathe," "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved." But in rock 'n' roll, you're only as good as your last hit, and Maroon 5 had spent a couple of years prior to "The Voice" not churning out consistent hits. "We were doing well before this," Levine says of the band, "but ('The Voice') changed things. It elevated things. It moved things along.
"It allowed me to learn more about who I was and to speak. Everybody knows what I sound like when I sing. Not too many people know me when I speak. People judge you a lot if you don't have a chance to speak up.
"People are listening to what I say now, at least a little bit, a least more than they did before. It's strange how all that turned around so quickly because of this show.
"People see me, and they think they know me because I am in their living rooms every week."
After "The Voice" took off in 2011, Maroon 5 was able to jump on its bandwagon. "Moves Like Jagger," a club-infused number with fellow "Voice" judge Christina Aguilera providing some guest vocals, rocketed to the top of the charts, making it one of the band's quickest hits ever.
Maroon 5 isn't the only musical act to get a career jolt from reality TV. Jennifer Lopez had her first Top 10 single in years thanks to her exposure on "American Idol." Fellow "Voice" judges Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green also had hits over the past few months.
Levine is finding he has to watch what he says and how he presents it. For him, a line exists between loutish rock star and respectable TV judge.
"It used to be it was OK to say what you say and not worry about what you said. Now it's different. You have to watch what you say. A lot of people are listening to you," he says. "There's a huge list of no-nos on what shouldn't be said. "Sometimes (the media) can take what you say (and twist it) even when your intention is different. I'm not so bad at this (stuff) now."
© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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