I’m a big fan of Maroon 5. I know every one of their songs, and I even got a chance to see them in concert. It was an incredible experience that I would happily repeat.
Around this time, a song called “Stereo Hearts” was released by Gym Class Heroes. As soon as the song opens up, you hear a familiar voice: Adam Levine.
When you look this particular song up, you’ll come to find that it doesn’t say ft. Maroon 5, but ft. Adam Levine. This song was recorded while they were together (as they’ve been together since 1994), but still, Adam decided to do some work outside of the band.
This was not the first time he did this. There are several songs where Adam Levine is singing, but the rest of the band isn’t involved. Those songs are listed down below.
- “Heard ‘Em Say” – Kanye West ft. Adam Levine
- “Say It Again” – Natasha Bedingfield ft. Adam Levine
- “Bang Bang” – K’naan ft. Adam Levine
- “Man in the Mirror” – Adam Levine and Javier Colon
- “Yesterday” – Adam Levine and Tony Lucca
- “My Life” – 50 Cent ft. Eminem and Adam Levine
- “YOLO” – The Lonely Island ft. Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar
- “Heavy” – PJ Morton ft. Adam Levine
- “Locked Away” – R. City ft. Adam Levine
As you can see, there are quite a few… and those are just ones that were released as singles. Adam Levine also sung on a few songs that weren’t released onto the radio.
- “Live Again” – Ying Yang Twins ft. Adam Levine
- “Wild Horses” – Alicia Keys ft. Adam Levine
- “Gotten” – Slash ft. Adam Levine
- “Stand Up” – Javier Colon ft. Adam Levine
- “Lost Stars” – Adam Levine
- “A Higher Place” – Adam Levine
All in all, Adam Levine has fifteen songs where the rest of his band isn’t with him. Fifteen.
I have never heard one person complain about this, and I come from a group of friends who can’t get enough of Maroon 5.
Maybe it’s because the other members of Maroon 5 aren’t as well known, maybe it’s because a lot of their fans are older. Let me give you a more recent example.
In 2013, a song called “Don’t Let Me Go” surfaced. This was a demo done by Harry Styles, who penned this song alongside his friend Sam McCarthy.
As everyone knows, Harry Styles is in the band One Direction. In 2013, the band was in full-swing.
As I remember it, only a few souls were complaining about Harry working outside of the group. Most fans were extremely excited to hear the youngest member sing alone, and practically no one was upset that it was done. Most people praised the song’s release. Over two years later, people are still listening to it.
Why am I babbling about singers working outside of their bands? Let me explain.
Last month, Camila Cabello (1/5 of Fifth Harmony) and Shawn Mendes released a single together – “I Know What You Did Last Summer”.
I figured a lot of fans would be excited to hear Camila with someone else; I totally was. I’ve heard all of the members of Fifth Harmony sing apart from the band, and they’re all incredible singers. Knowing this, I was excited to see what direction Camila and Shawn would take their single.
I was completely appalled when I saw more hate geared towards Camila than love.
Because Camila was doing a song outside of the group, everyone started assuming that she was abandoning them to try and go solo. People started talking about how 5H was becoming 4H, and people who’ve supported her for years were suddenly sending incredibly nasty words to her.
These words were even seen by her, and her Twitter reply broke my heart into a thousand pieces.
@perrieshunty it's pretty serious when im afraid to look at my mentions because of the amount of hate on here
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) December 5, 2015
Since when is it okay to flood someone’s mentions with hate? Since when is it okay to send so many mean comments that someone is scared to look at their own Twitter page?
One solo song she did with a friend doesn’t mean she’s done with Fifth Harmony. It means that she wants to explore her musical possibilities, and when Shawn and her wrote that song out of the blue at Taylor Swift’s concert, it was an opportunity for her to do so. You can’t grow without new experiences, and this specific song gave her an option to learn more about herself.
Her wanting to branch out has nothing to do with the band she’s in. She has stated on multiple occasions that her solo work has not affected her group work, and just recently, she directly tweeted about it to a fan.
@SUPDlNAH actually I've never missed a 5h recording session or any 5h commitment ever, i was at the studio yesterday too.
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) December 5, 2015
@SUPDlNAH i understand nobody's telling you the real and all you have left to do is assume. but all of these assumptions are false
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) December 5, 2015
@SUPDlNAH i sleep less and during the times i used to have free time i work, but i put in the same amount of work for 5h that i always have
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) December 5, 2015
Despite all this hate she’s been receiving, she still apologized to the fan she made her point to. She even told them she’d delete the replies if she wanted her to, just so that people wouldn’t send her hate. She in no way had to do that. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never even seen a celebrity do that before.
@SUPDlNAH i don't want anybody sending you hate for this so if you want me to i'll delete these tweets. x
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) December 5, 2015
Camila has never been anything but kind to the people around her, and for some reason, this kindness isn’t being returned. She has one single outside of Fifth Harmony, one, and suddenly people are making it seem like she isn’t loyal. That ‘fact’ is an entire lie; it’s been denied each time it’s been brought up.
It’s time to end this. If you’re a fan of Fifth Harmony, you’re most likely a fan of Camila. If you’re a fan of someone, you’re supposed to shower them with love. You’re supposed to encourage them to do the things they enjoy. You’re supposed to praise them when they try out new things. You’re not supposed to send them heartless hate, especially when it’s not deserved. Even if you’re not happy with what she’s doing, it gives you no right to be so cold to her.
For everything she does for her fans, she deserves none of what she’s receiving.
Adam Levine, Harry Styles, and plenty of others have done separate projects away from their bands. This in no way affected their loyalty to their band members, and no one was bothered by the material they released either by themselves or with others. It should be the same way with Camila.
[Tweet “Band members can work on projects outside of their groups – stop sending hate to @camilacabello97.”]
What do you think about the Camila Cabello situation? Are you mad at Camila for her decision or are you perfectly okay with it? Leave us a comment down below or tweet us at @CelebMix.
Also, if you need some reasons to love Camila, read this. We give you five good ones, such as her speaking up about mental illness.
Extra: I took to the CelebMix page and asked our followers if they would be mad if Harry Styles released a single with a friend. It wasn’t a surprise; the majority of people who answered weren’t mad about it.
QUESTION: If Harry Styles (or anyone from 1D really) released a single with one of his friends, would you be mad?
— CelebMix (@CelebMix) December 7, 2015
On top of that, I actually received replies saying they wanted Harry to release a single. I also got people wanting Louis Tomlinson to have a single. This speaks for itself.
@CelebMix like why would anyone be mad…. He's doing what he loves… And that's to sing
— Vere (@DobleMerrell) December 7, 2015
@CelebMix I wouldn't be mad, because he does have great talent and if he wants to try something new then why not
— Evelina (@EvelinaS22) December 7, 2015
@CelebMix louis should be the one releasing solo music
— w^^s (@sichenggie) December 7, 2015
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