Steve Granitz/WireImageIn their career, Maroon 5 has won three Grammys, including their very first, Best New Artist, back in 2005. Over the years, there have been acts who’ve won that award who sank without a trace — like Starland Vocal Band — and others who went on to have long, successful careers — like The Beatles or Mariah Carey. Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine says when they won the trophy, they decided to make it their business to join the latter category.
“I mean, it was really special and…and it did feel like we had like a mandate from all those people that we respected to make good records and to sort of earn that and beat the curse,” James tells ABC Radio. “And I feel like, y’know, we’re still around. I think we’ve beaten the curse. I think we can say that now!”
But James says Maroon 5 didn’t think they had a chance of winning that year, thanks to their competition.
“It was a really great honor and also completely unexpected,” says James. “I mean, that year, we were up against this guy named Kanye West! We were sure that he was going to win. And so we were actually shocked when they called our name.”
But apparently, the band members wasn’t nearly as shocked as their mothers were.
“I remember Adam [Levine] and I brought our moms as dates,” laughs James. “And I just remember my mom screaming, like, in a way that I had never heard, when they called our name. It was surreal. It was a great experience.”
By the way, besides Kanye, the other acts that Maroon 5 beat that year were Gretchen Wilson, Los Lonely Boys and Joss Stone.
Maroon 5’s most recent Grammy nod was for “Sugar,” at the 2016 Grammys. The 60th Annual Grammy Awards air Sunday, January 28 on CBS.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
