6.19.12 - New Music - Maroon 5

The thing to do these days is to release at least two singles before your album comes out (unless you are someone like Chris Brown and you feel the need to release four or five singles before the album has even dropped), in the hopes that it will really convince people to rush out and pick up your new disc (especially in the first week, when the amount of sales really matters – CDs almost always hit their peak on the Billboard 200 in their first week, and you want to get [as Nicki would say] higher than a motherfucker). It used to be you’d only need one single and then go from there. Not the case anymore, especially in a world where no one buys albums anymore.

Maroon 5’s new album ‘Overexposed’ is out June 26th, so now’s about the time to make one final push to make the album hit that high mark. Lead single “Payphone (ft. Wiz Khalifa)” already made it all the way to #3 (and is still sitting pretty – who knows, maybe it will go higher?), so any new song they put out can probably only help the album’s case.

The Max Martin-produced number is nothing special in my mind. For a group who have just given us “Moves Like Jagger (ft. Christina Aguilera)” and “Payphone (ft. Wiz Khalifa)” – two mammoth pop hits, is this really what’s next in line?

The song leaves a lot to be desired, and I found myself sitting, waiting for there to be a big, hook-laden catchy chorus. You know, the kind of thing Adam Levine and the boys are so well known for. Having said that, the song really isn’t bad. I don’t see it charting well (maybe at first due to strong digital sales and all that, but it won’t be a big hit for them), but that’s ok. They just need the song to keep their name in the headlines long enough for people to buy the CD. Free advertising, kind of.

Something tells me that after this has had its run and “Payphone” begins to make its way down the charts, ‘Overexposed’ will release another huge radio-friendly pop smash. This is Maroon 5 we’re talking about, and after their last album failed to have any huge, memorable singles (especially second and third singles), they are not messing around.