Maroon 5 face down 'identity issues' on new album

Adam Levine knows the game.

Seconds after sitting down for an on-camera interview and before any questions are asked, the Maroon 5 frontman playfully rattles off canned responses he's used in recent months while promoting "The Voice" and the band's fourth album.

"It is our poppiest record ever. We're really embracing the pop side. Christina (Aguilera) and I are all good. We don't fight," he says brightly. "I feel great about this record! Probably our best ever!"

He lets out a stagey, fake chuckle, and it's clear that the 33-year-old Los Angeles native both relishes the spotlight and has been around long enough to grow a smidge tired of its glare.

Thus the title of the album, "Overexposed," which finds the five-man group at its commercial peak ten years after its debut "Songs About Jane." Last year's standalone single "Moves Like Jagger," featuring the aforementioned Aguilera, stayed at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 for a month. "Overexposed's" lead single "Payphone" is now in the top five.

Levine and guitarist James Valentine spoke with The Associated Press in a recording studio about Maroon 5's "identity issues," educating young fans and why Levine doesn't plan to go solo. (mtq)