Hearts

An evasion-type trick-taking game for 3–6 players
The Hearts penalty cards; the object of Hearts is to avoid taking tricks containing any of these cards
Origin	Polignac, Reverse, Four Jacks
Alternative name(s)	The Dirty, Black Lady, Black Swear, Chase the Lady, Crubs, Rickety Kate, Queen of Spades (in Turkey)
Type	Trick-taking
Players	3–6, (4 is best)
Skill(s) required	Card counting, Tactics, Teamwork
Age range	7+
Cards	52-card (51 or 54 for 3 or 6 players, 50 for 5)
Deck	Anglo-American
Play	Clockwise
Card rank (highest to lowest)	A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2, no trump
Playing time	5 minutes per hand
Random chance	Low – moderate
Related games
Black Lady
Notes: Hearts, while not trump, award one penalty point each, hence the game's most common name.

Hearts is an "evasion-type" trick-taking playing card game for four players, although variations can accommodate 3–6 players. The game is also known as Black Lady,^[1] The Dirty, Slippery Anne, Chase the Lady, Crubs, and Black Maria,^[2] though any of these may refer to the similar but differently-scored game Black Lady. The game is regarded^{[by whom?]} as a member of the Whist family of trick-taking games (which also includes Bridge and Spades), but the game is unique among Whist variants in that it is an evasion-type game.

History of Hearts[link]

The game of Hearts as currently known originated with a family of related games called Reversis, which became popular around 1750 in Spain.^[3] In this game, a penalty point was awarded for each trick won, plus additional points for capturing the Jack of Hearts or the Queen of Hearts. A similar game called Four Jacks centered around avoiding any trick containing a Jack, which were worth one penalty point, and the Jack of Spades worth two.

Over time, additional penalty cards were added to Reverse, and around 1850, the game gave way to a simple variant of Hearts, where each Heart was worth 1 point. The Queen of Spades (sometimes referred to as "Calamity Jane") was introduced in a variant called Black Maria which then became known as the standard Hearts game, and soon thereafter, the idea of "shooting the moon" was introduced to the game to add depth to the gameplay. In the 1920s, the Jack of Diamonds variation (ten positive points) was introduced, and some time later the scoring was reversed so that penalty points were expressed as positive instead of negative. Passing cards, breaking Hearts, and leading the Two of Clubs are more recent additions.^[3]

Recently the game has become popular in live play among grade school students in the United States, and is enjoying more widespread popularity through Internet gaming sites and due to a Microsoft version of the game packaged with most workstation versions of its popular Windows operating system, beginning in version 3.1 (see Hearts (Windows) for more information on the software game).

Method[link]

Object[link]

A standard deck of 52 playing cards is used. The objective of the game is to have the fewest points at the completion of the game.^[4] Tricks containing any heart and the queen of spades give points to the winner of the trick. There is no trump;^[5] the highest card of the suit led wins each trick.

Dealing the cards[link]

Thirteen cards are dealt singly in turn to each of the four players.

• When there are only three players, the 2♦^[1][5] is removed from the deck before play commences, and each player receives 17 cards. Cards are dealt clockwise (the person to the left of the dealer). In another alternative, a randomly chosen card is set aside face down at the beginning of play; this card goes to whoever takes the first heart.
• When there are five players, the 2♣ is removed as well as the 2♦, and each player receives 10 cards.^[2][1][5] Alternatively, three Jokers (usually the two from one deck plus one from a similar deck) can be added, and each player receives 11. In another alternative, two randomly chosen cards are set aside face down at the beginning of play; these cards go to whoever takes the first heart.

Passing cards[link]

The basic game of Hearts does not include card passing, but the most common variants do. Before each hand begins, each player chooses three cards, and passes them to another player. The main objectives of passing are to try to become "short" or "void" in a suit, and thus able to play off-suit when that suit is led; or to rid one's hand of "dangerous" cards that will likely force that player to take a trick containing penalty points, such as the AKQ of any suit (especially Spades and Hearts). There are many variations on passing; the most common in computer versions of the game (and thus popular in live games) rotates passing through four deals; on the first deal, players pass to the left, the second deal to the right, the third across the table. On the fourth deal no cards are passed; the cycle of four deals is then repeated.

Other variations on the passing rules include:

• Subsets of the four-deal passing sequence, such as only passing in one direction each deal, alternating between passing left and right, or sequencing through passing left, right, and across, or left, right, and no pass.
• When playing with three or five players, cross-passing is not technically possible as no one player is seated directly across from another. In these cases, "star-passing" may be substituted for cross-passing. The players choose only two cards, and pass one each to the two players situated closest to the exact opposite side of the table. Star-passing is so named because the pattern of passing routes forms a five-point star.
• Alternatively, with an odd number of players, players may choose three cards and discard them to a central pile. The Dealer will gather, shuffle, and re-deal these cards. This method is known as a center mixer.
• Passing the Ace, King and/or Queen of Spades may be allowed or prohibited.^[2]
• When there are more than four players, only two cards are passed.^[2]
• The Dealer may choose how many cards and where to pass.

The play of the game[link]

An example trick. South has led the J♦.

The game is played similar to most other trick-taking games. One player leads each trick (the leader of the first trick is either the player to the left of the dealer, or in a common variant the holder of the 2♣) by playing a card from their hand. Each other player, in clockwise order, then plays a card from their hand. Players must "follow suit"; that is, play a card of the same suit as the lead card, if they are able. If they are not able to do so, they can play any card, including a penalty Heart or the Queen of Spades. The trick and any penalty points it contains are won by the player who played the highest-value card of the suit that was led. That player then becomes the lead player for the next trick, and play continues until all players have exhausted their hands.

Common variants include:

• The player holding the 2♣ must lead it to begin the first trick.^[6] When playing with five players and the 2♣ has been removed, play starts with the 3♣^[7]
• No penalty card (a Heart or the Queen of Spades) may be played on the first trick ("no bleeding on the first trick"), however the player must follow suit and can play a penalty card if they would otherwise renege. The chance of being dealt a hand composed entirely of standard penalty cards (♥, Q♠) is roughly 1 in 45 billion. However, the Hooligan Hearts variation which makes the 7♣ a penalty card, as well as variants in which the opening lead doesn't have to be a Club, present a far more likely situation in which a player might have tried to void Clubs or Spades and been passed the penalty card, thus having only a penalty card in the opening trick's suit.
• Hearts may not be led until they have been "broken" (discarded on the lead of another suit), unless the player who must lead has nothing but Hearts remaining in hand. In some variations, any play of a penalty card, including the Q♠, "breaks hearts".
• In a sub-variation of the above, if a player's hand contains nothing but Hearts and the Q♠, the player may elect not to lead with the Q♠ and instead still play a Heart. Either way, hearts are broken by such a play.

Scoring[link]

Each heart taken in a trick scores 1 penalty point against the player winning the trick, and taking the Q♠ costs 13 penalty points. There are thus 26 penalty points in each deal. The game ends either when one player reaches or exceeds 100 points, or after a predetermined number of deals or length of time has passed. In any of these cases, the winning player is the one with the fewest penalty points.^[4]

Simplified scoring with chips is possible: all players contribute one chip to a central pool of chips and the pool is divided equally among those players taking no penalty cards on a deal; if all players take penalty cards, the pool remains on the table and is added to the next pool; once one player has won all available chips, or once another player has run out, the game ends.

Scoring variants[link]

There are many scoring variants including:

• The 10♦ or J♦ is a "bonus" card, subtracting 10 penalty points from the player who captures it. This is called the "Omnibus" variant and is very popular in some regions.
• A player reaching exactly 50 or 100 points subtracts 50 points from their score.
• A player who takes no tricks in a deal subtracts 5 points from their own score.
• A player may declare before the first card is played that he or she will not take any hearts on the upcoming hand. If they succeed in their pledge, they may subtract 10 penalty points, but if they take any hearts they are assessed 10 additional penalty points.
• The 7♣ is another penalty card, worth 7 points, in a variant called Hooligan Hearts.^[8]
• The A♠ can also be a penalty card, and sometimes also the K♠ and 10♠.
• Higher penalties may be assigned for the high hearts (e.g. A♥=5, K♥=4, Q♥=3, J♥=2).
• Different points are allocated to each penalty card. For example:
  • Each numbered Heart (2–10♥) is assigned the numeric value in points, each Heart face card and the A♥ counts as 10 points, and the Q♠ counts as 25 points, making a total of 119 in any given deal similar to Schwarze Katze.
  • "Pip Hearts": the Q♠ has no value, but each ♥ takes on its own value. For example, the 7♥ is worth 7 points. J♥ is worth 11, Q♥ is worth 12, K♥ is worth 13, and the A♥ is worth 14 points.^[9]

Shooting the moon[link]

Shooting the moon, also known as getting control, capmangoe or running, is a very common scoring variant. If one player takes all the penalty cards on one deal, that player's score remains unchanged while 26 penalty points are added to the scores of each of the other three players. This is known as playing by "old moon" rules. Attempting to shoot the moon is often a risky strategy, as failure to capture every single penalty card will result in the remaining penalty points (as many as 25) being added to one's score. An alternative rule allows giving a player who shoots the moon the option of subtracting 26 points from his or her own score instead of adding 26 to the opponents' scores; this variant is called "New Moon".

Four other sub-variations to the moon rule provide:

• That a player who shoots the moon must add unless doing so would end the game with the shooter losing (e.g., in a 100-pt game, if the shooter has 90, another player 95, and the leader 63, adding on a moon would sink the shooter). In such a case, the player may subtract.
• That a player may subtract after a predetermined score has been reached by the player, or any other player.
• That a player who shoots the moon and takes all the tricks in so doing (a grand slam) adds 52 points to the other players' scores, subject to the other variations listed above. This is known as "shooting the Sun" or "shooting the blue moon".
• That a player who shoots the moon and takes all the tricks in so doing (a grand slam) adds 52 points to the player from whom the cards were received in the previous passing round, while the others (excluding the player) each receive 26. This is known as "The Punishment Rule".

There is also a variant called "Shooting the Big Moon". This rule states that if a player receives 260 points (26 points every round) over the total of the 10 rounds, then all other players receive 260 points and the player finishes with a score of 0,^[10] or all other players receive 100 in a normal game.^[9]

Variations[link]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Hearts

• Booster Nines – if a nine is played then an extra round in the suit is played.^[11]
• Complex Hearts – a variant using the complex number system.^[12]
• Danger Hearts – 10 rounds are played using standard scoring, yet each player has three lives. If a player receives 15 hearts (and over) in a round, they lose a life. Further rounds are played until an overall winner is decided.^[13]
• Double Deck Cancellation Hearts – for six or more players.
• Gong Zhu or Chinese Hearts (拱猪) (Pinyin – gŏng zhū, literally "chase the pig") – scoring works slightly differently as the Q♠ and the hearts are worth different amounts of penalty points. In addition, the 10♣ and J♦ both have functions. Shooting the moon now takes into consideration these two additional cards.^[14]
• Hooligan Hearts, the 7♣ is another penalty card, worth 7 points.^[8]
• Jack of Diamonds – the J♦ becomes a point card. Unlike the normal practice of having the Q♠ add 13 points to one's score, the J♦ subtracts 10. In these games, a player attempting to 'shoot the moon' may be required to capture the J♦ as well in order to do so. Another variant of this game is to have the 10♦ as the point card.
• Joker Hearts – adding the joker cards, which can be played any time and count for zero points.^[15]
• Likha – a variant in the Middle East. The 10♦ is designated as a point card, but it adds rather than subtracts 10 points to a player's score. The name likha applies primarily to the Q♠, but some players also refer to the 10♦ as a lesser likha; as such, likha is defined as a point card that is not a heart. The dealer deals cards singly counterclockwise; after each deal, the player on the right becomes dealer. The rule of card passing happens after every deal, where each player selects any 3 cards from his hand and gives them to the player on his right (in Hearts, passing cards varies from left, right, across and none at all). A player is not allowed to pick up the 3 cards the player on his left had passed to him unless he passes 3 cards to the player on his right. Once all players had passed 3 cards then received 3 cards, play begins by the player to the dealer's right, who gets to choose to lead with any card he wishes, even if it were a point card (such as a heart or even the Q♠). The rest of the players must follow suit; if a player happens not to have any cards of the suit of the card played, he may play a point card or any high card of the most numerous suit he has, to lessen the chance he may get stuck with that suit and so gets more point cards. Play continues until all 13 tricks have been taken. Points are awarded according to the following rule: each heart counts as 1 point, the 10♦ as 10 points, and the Q♠ as 13 points; a deal has 36 total points to be given to players. If a player takes all point cards, he is given 36 points plus 1 point as penalty for taking all points (for total of 37 points); this is a common practice of 3 players "ganging up" on the fourth player, especially in the no-partner variant of likha. The other variant of likha is the partner variant, where the 4 players are divided into teams of 2 players in partnership. The 2 partners sit opposite each other, and each team tries to slam the other team with the point cards. The game ends with the first player to get a score above 100; in the partner variant, the team which has a partner first to get a score above 100 loses.
• Partnership hearts. Four players in two partnerships, sitting crosswise. Each team combines their scores, which are tallied in the same manner as the classic Hearts game. An exception is that teams which 'shoot the moon' by gathering all 13 hearts and the queen of spades score 52 points for the opposition if one member of the team collects all scoring cards (the 13 hearts and the queen of spades). Games are typically played to twice the normal game limit, as points are awarded at twice the normal rate.
• Queens – A version of hearts where all the queens are worth 13 points plus the regular point cards(hearts) making the total one can achieve, 64. The game ends when a player reaches 108. Hearts need not be broken to be played and point cards (hearts and the queens) can be played on the first round Another major difference is that a player cannot 'Shoot the moon'. The dealer of each round is the player who received the Queen of Spades Q♠ in the previous round.
• Rickety Kate – Differs in scoring and lacks the 'shooting the moon'. It is mostly played in Australia.^[16]
• Royal Hearts – A game produced by Parker Brothers, designed to center around new powers of the four Queens when scoring:^[17]
  • Q♠, worth 26 points instead of 13;
  • Q♥, doubles the point value of ♥ captured by the player;
  • Q♦, worth −10 points (but cannot result in a negative score for the hand);
  • Q♣, negates the Q♠'s point value
• Shooting the Sun – taking all the tricks, not just all the points, gives all other players 52 points.^[18]
• Small Hearts – the 2 through 7 of each suit are taken out; the 8♣ starts; each ♥ is worth 1 point, the Q♠ is worth 7 points; shooting the moon is worth 14 points; optionally the J♦ is worth −5 points.

References[link]

Christina Perri
Christina Perri in an interview
Background information
Birth name	Christina Judith Perri
Born	(1986-08-19) August 19, 1986 (age 25)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock, piano rock, alternative rock, soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Atlantic
Website	www.christinaperri.com

Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986)^[1][2] is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Philadelphia. Her song "Jar of Hearts" charted in the United States after it was featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Rolling Stone named her the "Band of the Week" on October 26, 2010.^[3] On May 10, 2011, Perri's "Jar of Hearts" was featured on Glee (Season 2, Episode 20 "Prom Queen").^[4] Also, on June 27, 2011, Perri's "Jar of Hearts" was featured on Switched at Birth (Season 1, Episode 4 "Dance Amongst Daggers"). One of her songs, "A Thousand Years", has been in the Twilight saga movie Breaking Dawn.

Early life[link]

Perri grew up in Bensalem, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) with her older brother, Nick Perri, who formerly played guitar with Shinedown, Silvertide, Perry Farrell and Matt Sorum.^[5] Her father is from Italy.^[6] She attended Archbishop Ryan High School as a member of the class of 2004.^[7] She taught herself how to play guitar as a 16-year-old by watching a videotape of Shannon Hoon from the group Blind Melon performing on VH1.^[3]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Perri moved to Los Angeles on her 21st birthday. Later that year she got married and began to produce music videos. She divorced 18 months later and moved back to Philadelphia by the end of 2009; during this time she wrote "Jar of Hearts". She moved back to Los Angeles, waitressing at the Melrose Cafe during the day and recording at night.^[3][8]

[edit] 2010–present: Lovestrong.

Perri's song "Jar of Hearts" was featured on So You Think You Can Dance during the June 30, 2010 show.^[9] It was featured in performance by Billy Bell and Kathryn McCormick.^[10] Perri's friend Keltie Colleen passed the song to show choreographer Stacey Tookey; Perri and Colleen watched the performance in the audience.^[9] Following its exposure on the show, "Jar of Hearts" sold 48,000 digital copies, debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at #63 and reaching #28 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs.^[10] Within a month, it sold more than 100,000 copies.^[8] Then, her music video for "Jar of Hearts" landed on the VH1 top 20 music video countdown.

Shortly after, Perri made her debut on national day time and prime time television, performing the song live on the July 10, 2010 episode of The Early Show on CBS as well as the July 15, 2010 episode of So You Think You Can Dance^[8] Perri signed a deal with Atlantic Records on July 21, 2010.^[11] Roadrunner Records continue to promote "Jar of Hearts" on the radio.^[12] Perri appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 29, 2010 and Conan on December 7, 2010 where she played "Jar of Hearts." In addition, "Jar of Hearts" was on the show Pretty Little Liars. "Arms" was also in the ABC Family movie Teen Spirit. Perri recorded an EP named The Ocean Way Sessions that was released on November 9, 2010.^[13]

Perri singing "Distance" (left) and "Jar of Hearts" (right) at the lovestrong. tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Perri's debut album is titled lovestrong. and was released on May 10, 2011. It follows the release of "Arms", its lead single, released on March 15. She appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, playing her song "Arms." "Arms" was used in the August 26, 2011 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful and has also been used in TV spots for the Fall 2011 season of Investigation Discovery's show "Disappeared."

Perri's single, "A Thousand Years," appeared on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn's movie soundtrack.

On November 1, 2011 Perri appeared on ABC's Dancing With The Stars Results show to perform her song "Arms". On 13 November 2011, she also performed "Jar of Hearts" on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing results show. On February 19, she performed "Jar of Hearts" in the pre-fight buildup to Vitali Klitschko vs. Derek Chisora World Heavyweight Championship boxing contest in Munich.

On 29th January 2012, Perri performed Jar of Hearts live on UK ITV's Dancing on Ice show, with Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in a specially choreographed routine.

She will be joining Jason Mraz in his tour across continental North America in 2012. Perri also announced that she will be releasing her second studio album in Spring 2013.

On 22nd April 2012, Perri performed live on Australia's Dancing with the Stars.

Discography[link]

EP[link]

• The Ocean Way Sessions (2010)

Albums[link]

• Lovestrong (2011)

References[link]

Marty Balin
Balin at Monterey's Summer of Love Festival, July 30, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Martyn Jerel Buchwald
Born	(1942-01-30) January 30, 1942 (age 70)
Origin	Cincinnati, Ohio
Genres	Psychedelic rock, Folk rock, Pop rock, Acid rock
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1965—present
Labels	Challenge, EMI, GWE
Associated acts	Jefferson Airplane, KBC Band, Jefferson Starship

Balin performing at a concert in Hallandale, Florida

Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known as the founder and one of the lead singers of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.

Early life[link]

This section requires expansion.

Balin was born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (née Talbot) and Joseph Buchwald. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe. His father was Jewish and his mother was Episcopalian.^[1] Balin is mildly autistic, and as a child he struggled with this while growing up in Ohio, and it affected him into his adulthood.^[2] Marty attended Washington High School in San Francisco, California and is a member of the Washington Hall of Fame.

Career[link]

In 1962, Martyn renamed himself Marty Balin and began recording with Challenge Records, releasing the singles "Nobody But You" and "I Specialize in Love".^[3] By 1964, Balin was leading a folk music quartet called The Town Criers, with fellow band members Larry Vargo, Jan Ellickson and Bill Collins.^[3]

Balin was the founder and one of the lead vocalists for Jefferson Airplane from 1965 to 1971.^[3]

In 1971, he departed Jefferson Airplane and produced an album for the group Grootna^[4] before joining them and recording vocals for the album Bodacious DF.^[5] In 1974, Paul Kantner asked Marty to write a song for his new Airplane offshoot group, Jefferson Starship and together they wrote "Caroline"^[3] which appeared on the album Dragon Fly. Marty joined Jefferson Starship permanently in 1975,^[3] and contributed to several hit songs (including "Miracles" (#12), "With Your Love" (#3), "Count on Me" (#8), and "Runaway" (#12).^[6] In 1978, Balin left the group.^[3]

In 1979, he produced a rock opera entitled "Rock Justice,"^[7] about a rock-star who was put in jail for failing to produce a hit for the record company based on his experiences with the lawsuits fought for years with former Airplane manager Matthew Katz.^[3] The cast recording was produced by Balin but did not feature him in performance.

Balin continued with EMI as a solo artist and in 1981, he released his first solo album, Balin, featuring two Top 40 hits, "Hearts" (#8) and "Atlanta Lady" (#27). This was followed in 1983 by a second solo album, Lucky, along with a Japanese-only EP produced by EMI called There's No Shoulder. Lucky did not match the performance of Balin on the Billboard charts, and Balin's contract with EMI ended.^[3]

In 1985, he teamed up with Paul Kantner and Jack Casady to form the KBC Band.^[3] After the breakup of the KBC band, a 1989 reunion album and tour with Jefferson Airplane followed.

Balin continued recording solo albums in the years following the reunion and reunited with Kantner in the latest incarnation of Jefferson Starship.^[3]

Balin had intended to record lead vocals for two tracks for Jefferson Starship's album, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty. However, his art touring schedule conflicted with studio sessions and instead the track "Maybe for You" from the German release of Windows of Heaven was included.^[8][9]

On July 2, 2007, music publishing firm Bicycle Music, Inc. announced that it acquired an interest in songs written or performed by Balin, including hits from his days with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.^[10]

Personal life[link]

This section requires expansion.

His wife, Karen T. Deal, died on November 19, 2010, in Temple Terrace, Florida, after choking on food. She was 57 years old.^[11] He has two daughters - Jennifer and Delaney Mariah Skye.^[3]

Discography[link]

Solo albums

• Balin (1981) (includes the single, "Hearts")
• Lucky (1983)
• There's No Shoulder EP (1983) (Japan only)
• Better Generation (1991)
• Freedom Flight (1997)
• Marty Balin Greatest Hits (1999) (All New Recordings)
• Marty Balin 2003 (2003)
• Nashville Sessions (2008)
• Nothin' 2 Lose (2009)
• Time For Every Season (2009)
• Blue Highway (2010)
• The Witcher (2011)

Compilation albums

• Balince (1990)
• Wish I Were (1995) (German - Beverly Records/AMMC International)
• The Aviator - Lost Treasures (2005)

with Jefferson Airplane

• Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966)
• Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
• After Bathing at Baxter's (1967)
• Crown of Creation (1968)
• Bless Its Pointed Little Head (1969)
• Volunteers (1969)
• Early Flight (1974)
• Jefferson Airplane (1989)

with Bodacious DF

• Bodacious DF (1973)

with Jefferson Starship

• Dragon Fly (1974)
• Red Octopus (1975)
• Spitfire (1976)
• Earth (1978)
• Deep Space / Virgin Sky (1995)
• Windows of Heaven (1999)
• Across the Sea of Suns (2001)
• Jefferson's Tree of Liberty (2008)

with KBC Band

• KBC Band (1986)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Balin at the Jefferson Airplane official website
• Allmusic: Marty Balin
• Tamarkin, Jeff. Jefferson Airplane biography, Got a Revolution.com
• Fenton, Craig. Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual, Take Me To A Circus Tent.net
• Interview with Balin

Adam Levine
Levine during a press conference in Singapore in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Adam Noah Levine
Born	(1979-03-18) March 18, 1979 (age 33) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock, funk rock, pop rock, soul, rhythm and blues
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano
Years active	1994–present
Labels	A&M Octone
Associated acts	Maroon 5, Kara's Flowers, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Natasha Bedingfield, Ying Yang Twins, Alicia Keys, K'naan, Rihanna, Slash, Gym Class Heroes, Christina Aguilera
Website	www.maroon5.com

Adam Noah Levine^[1] (born March 18, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.

Early life[link]

Levine was born in Los Angeles to Fred and Patsy (née Noah) Levine. His uncle is journalist and author Timothy Noah.^[2] He has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Julia.^[3] When he was six years old, he made the winning shot of his local YMCA championship basketball game (on a team his father coached) with no time left on the clock. He has said that the incident changed his life and gave him the confidence to be successful.^[4][5]

Levine attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts Camp (Hancock, NY) with best friend Jesse Carmichael, guitar player of the band known at that time as Kara's Flowers. He graduated from Brentwood School in 1997.

Levine has Jewish ancestry on both sides of his family (his father and maternal grandfather were Jewish), and considers himself Jewish, though according to The Jewish Chronicle, who interviewed Levine, he "has rejected formal religious practice for a more generalized, spiritual way of life". He chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah as a child.^[6]

Original band Kara's Flowers[link]

Having met at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, the band released their first album titled The Fourth World in 1997 as high school seniors. That same year the band appeared on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. The album had little success, and its only single, "Soap Disco", failed commercially. Disappointed with the results of their album, the band members went their separate ways.^[7]

Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles for New York. This was the first time the two Los Angeles natives were exposed to a completely different music scene, a cultural awakening for the young men.^[8] On MTV News, in 2002, Levine said, "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip hop, R&B thing. We had friends named Chaos and shit. It was not Brentwood High."^[9]

Maroon 5 and mainstream success[link]

During this time, Levine worked a two-week stint as a waiter at Johnny Rockets.^[10] After dropping out of Five Towns College, Levine and Jesse reunited with Mickey and Ryan, but added former Square guitarist, James Valentine in 2001. Renaming the band Maroon 5, Levine and his friends began to compile all of their newfound musical influences into their music. While Levine was working as a writer's assistant on the television show "Judging Amy," he spent time writing the lyrics about his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Those lyrics became the album "Songs About Jane."^[10]

Other work[link]

Levine (right) with bandmate Jesse Carmichael in 2007

Levine has collaborated with various musical acts. In 2005, Levine was featured on the Ying Yang Twins song "Live Again". He appeared on Kanye West's Late Registration album, on the third single, "Heard 'Em Say".^[11] He is also featured in the song "Wild Horses" on Alicia Keys' third album Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged. Over the next year, he co-wrote the track "Say It Again" on Natasha Bedingfield's album N.B.. He also performed the background vocals on this song. Most recently, Levine offered his vocals on Gym Class Heroes' newest album in the song "Stereo Hearts".

Levine has made four notable comic appearances on television. During 2007, he appeared on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in an SNL Digital Short called Iran So Far with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Jake Gyllenhaal. Levine played himself while singing a humorous bridge to a "love song" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2008, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Night Of Too Many Stars". Levine also had a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the night of stars and endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election.

In October 2008, Levine collaborated with First Act to create the First Act 222 Guitar, fashioned to Levine's specifications. The guitar was made available for purchase at Target retail stores.^[12]

Levine has stated in various interviews that he does not plan on continuing in Maroon 5 forever, and may stop after the tour for Maroon 5's third album.^[13][14] In 2009, he recorded "Gotten", a song for Slash's first solo album Slash released in April 2010. "Gotten" was premiered at amazon.com on March 29, 2010.^[15] Levine is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will be Loved" in the music rhythm game Band Hero. In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World" called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".^{[citation needed]}

Levine is one of the contestant judges and coach mentors on the singing TV show, The Voice.^[16] The winner of the first season, Javier Colon, was on Levine's team. Levine also returned as a coach for Season 2 of The Voice. His team consisted of Mathai (singer), Pip (singer), Tony Lucca, Katrina Parker, Karla Davis, and Kim Yarbrough. Levine will appear in the second season of American Horror Story.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Levine's ex-girlfriend Jane is the inspiration behind the name of the band's debut album Songs About Jane. In a 2004 interview, he claimed that she had not contacted him despite the success of the album.^[18]

In September 2010, Levine said on the Howard Stern Show he had been dating Russian Sports Illustrated swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna seriously for about eight months. The couple met when Maroon 5 performed at the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas.^[19] In April 2012, Levine and Vyalitsyna announced that they had split.^[20]

Levine stripped naked for testicular cancer awareness for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan UK's February 2011 issue.^[21]

During Levine's teenage years, he was medically diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In 2011, he launched an educational campaign to raise awareness of ADHD, titled "Own It".^[22]

Levine, whose brother is openly gay, is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights.^[23] In 2011, he made a video^[24] on Maroon 5's official YouTube account in support of the It Gets Better Project. In January 2012, he announced that Maroon 5 had changed the location of their post-Grammy Awards show because of the "unnamed Los Angeles restaurant's backing of Proposition 8".^[23]

Discography[link]

As a featured artist[link]