Have you walked down the aisles of your local grocery store or flipped through radio stations looking for the perfect music to drive to in the summer of 2012, you may have familiarized yourself with the upbeat, high­-energy rhythms and feel ­good sound of Maroon 5’s fourth studio album, Overexposed. Referred to by many, including the band themselves, as the most “pop-friendly” album of all their previous ones, Maroon 5 has surprised fans with the new sounds of their recently released fifth studio album, V.

“The album sounds great; what I like the most about it is that they’ve essentially kept the same sound but made it better. You are able to find the perfect song for any mood,” senior Yassmin Shamma said.

Having started their journey in the early years of the 2000s, Maroon 5 has been successful in remaining relevant in the pop­ music scene and can be known as one of the genre’s most enduring artists to date. What many people may not know about the three­ time Grammy award winning band is that they weren’t as successful as they had hoped in their first attempt to fame.

Alternative rock grunge group, Kara’s Flowers, formed in 1994, consisting of four members: Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick. The band had released their first and only album produced by Reprise Records titled The Fourth World in 1997 but was later dropped by their record deal due to the album’s little success. After giving college a try and realizing it was not for them, frontman and lead singer Adam Levine and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael reunited with the rest of the band, adding James Valentine as their lead guitarist and thus, Maroon 5 was born.

Since then, the band has released five studio albums, won several awards including three American Music Awards and three Billboard Music Awards, all while leaving little room for rest to headline seven tours from 2002­-2013. V, released on Aug. 29, incorporates different elements of music than ones used in previous albums such as those in ‘Sugar’, the funk-­infused, soulful number in which Levine showcases his falsettos throughout the chorus. In the song ‘It Was Always You’, he shares a love epiphany while being accompanied by a techno vibe very different from their usual sound.

The highly anticipated first single, ‘Maps’, which Rolling Stone writer Jon Dolan refers to as “’Payphone’ on steroids”, gives fans a taste of the classic high­-tempo sound that they know and love, as do ‘In Your Pocket’ and ‘Feelings’. Similar to ‘Maps’ is the subsequently released single ‘Animals’ in which Billboard editor Brad Wete praises the “punching bass line” that thumps throughout. Amongst these, there is a variety of slow­ to ­mid tempo ballads including ‘Leaving California’ and ‘My Heart Is Open’ – a collaboration with pop-­rock powerhouse, Gwen Stefani. Since its release, V has remained at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold approximately 164,000 copies worldwide. Maroon 5 has since then also announced their 2015 World Tour, kicking off on Feb. 16 in Dallas Texas.

Overall, the album has proven to be a great addition to what they’ve already established as a Vband and a solid stepping stone into a different world of sounds that they can explore in the future.