Maroon 5’s special gift for Korea

“Annyeong Haseayo, Gamsahamnida! (Hello, thank you!) I am really glad that I am back in Korea” (Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine)

On Wednesday when a cold wave alert was issued, even wind chills of seven degrees below zero faltered at the Gocheok Sky Dom,e in Seoul. At the place was Maroon 5 with biggest hits, such as ‘This Love,’ and ‘Moves Like Jagger,’ performing live.

Maroon 5 visited Korea in three years and nine months after his world tour in 2019. It was the first world tour since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The audience of around 22,000 people sent a warm welcome to the long-awaited singer at the stadium on the day.

Maroon 5 showed an intense kick-off. When the members appeared with the cheerful tune of ‘Moves Like Jagger,’ the audience responded with a burst of cheers. Maroon 5 singer Levine, who was wearing a colorful short-sleeved shirt above a white T-shirt, paid little heed to the cold. He heated up the atmosphere in a flash by performing their global smash hit that sold 2.3 million units and swept the dome with their symbolic songs, including ‘This Love’ and ‘Stereo Hearts.’ When ‘One More Night’ came out, the audience danced along to the rhythm.

The stage, which was filled with ever-growing excitement gripped the attendees with the 2012 hit ‘Payphone.’ This song gained much love in Korea with sentimental lyrics, ‘I’m at a payphone trying to call home. All of my change I spent on you. Where have the times gone?’ When Levine said, “Let’s sing together tonight. It feels terrific when everyone sings along. Please make your phone light up,” the tens of thousands of flashlights created a stunning backdrop of the show. Above the star-like lights, Levine’s sensual voice resonated through the dome gently tickling people’s ears.

Performing 22 songs in total, Maroon 5 focused on playing music rather than making comments. The team, which has been showing affection for Korean fans visiting Korea seven times since 2008, did not forget to give a gift to them. They showed a grand finale by singing ‘Lost Stars’ in the film ‘Begin Again’ during the encore performance. The song was not even included in the list of songs to be performed, as a surprise gift from Maroon 5. Levine hinted that it was improvised, saying, “We didn’t even rehearse this song.” The soft guitar melody with a sweet voice. The concert filled with heated cheers throughout the performance came to an end with a promise to meet up again.


Jae-Hee Kim jetti@donga.com