» Maroon 5 exploded out of the gate with a debut that sold over 8 million copies.
Five years after its release—with mounting expectations and a lineup change—they're finally releasing their second album. Can they do it all over again?

They say the Hollywood mansion once owned by legendary magician Harry Houdini is haunted. Jesse Carmichael believes them.
“We did see some ghosts,” confirms the Maroon 5 keyboardist, who lived in the house with his bandmates during the writing of their hotly anticipated new album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long . “There was definitely some spirit activity there. But it was all very friendly, nothing to be afraid of.”

Lead singer Adam Levine shared his bandmates' reasons for wanting to work there: It's where a band they mutually idolize, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recorded their Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Stadium Arcadium albums. But that didn't mean he was going to risk sleeping in the 1918 mansion, now owned by Peppers producer Rick Rubin.
“I wouldn't stay there,” declares Levine. He explains that several years ago he lived in a Los Angeles-area house he believed to be haunted and was not eager to repeat the experience. “The minute I walked into the Houdini place, I was like, ‘No, sorry,'” he recalls with a laugh. While his bandmates were sleeping inside, Levine lay safely un-spooked at a nearby hotel.

With the album finished and the mansion a memory, the only thing haunting Maroon 5 now is the expectations being placed upon them. Their 2002 debut, Songs About Jane , was a worldwide blockbuster, and its singles “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved” were massive pop crossover hits.

The world is waiting to see whether the band can replicate the phenomenon—and it isn't just record labels and promoters hoping it can. “It would be dishonest to say that I didn't want us to become the biggest band in the world,” Levine admits. “I don't know what will happen. There's always a lot of variables and factors that need to be in place, but we could be. We are a great band.”

by Chris Neal

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