Photo by Jasper Lucena
Maroon 5 has just finished their Manila leg of Red Pill Blues Tour. Here in Manila, Maroon 5 fans from all over the country flocked to the Mall of Asia Arena to witness this event. This is not the first time that the band included the Philippines in their world tour, and ever since they’ve been coming to our shores, their concerts have been 101% jampacked!
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Earlier this year, the band headlined the Super Bowl LIII halftime show where they were criticized for their performance and their participation at the controversial event. As a fan, I watched their performance online and couldn’t help but share my two cents about their performance, too.
You see, I’ve been hearing Maroon 5 since I was in grade school. From their old school songs “Harder to Breathe”, “She Will Be Loved”, and “Sunday Morning” to their new songs “Girls Like You”, “Best 4 U”, and “Whiskey”; they certainly proved that even after making six studio albums so far, they won’t be going away anytime soon despite controversies and criticized performances.
Photo by Jasper Lucena
To be honest, seeing their Super Bowl performance made me wonder: are they still worth watching live? I mean, watching their halftime show, stripping away all the grand effects and lights, their performance was quite dull and underwhelming compared to their past acts. It’s like they only performed for the sake of showing something to the viewers but their hearts were not into it.
It felt half baked without establishing connections to their viewers. And to be frank, it was like watching Adam undress out of desperation knowing that they somehow failed with their performance. Though it definitely saved them because who doesn’t want to see those hot abs of his and I definitely enjoyed the last part of their show.
Photo by Jasper Lucena
After seeing them live with hundreds of fans inside the arena, though, I must admit that seeing them perform in person is still and will always be worth it. They were more passionate about performing for us Filipinos than during that controversial halftime show. They didn’t fail to show us the band that we fell in love with in the first place. The energy and sincerity in every song that they performed were felt throughout the whole venue.
My favorite part of their Red Pill Blues Manila leg, however, was that there was no topless Adam Levine in it. Plus, their performances of Girls Like you and Lost Stars were divine. I could really see the versatility of the band, especially Adam Levine and lead guitarist James Valentine. That is when I realized that Maroon 5 will always be relevant to the music industry and will always be a part of pop culture even after a few more years. They create masterpieces that can withstand the test of time.
Maroon 5 has been a huge part of my childhood. Whatever controversies and criticism they face, I am sure that they will rise up and keep creating great and relevant music that empowers those who listen to it.
Thanks to MMI Live and Live Nation for bringing Maroon 5 back in our shores! We can’t wait for the next time they’ll be visiting us!
