Maroon 5‘s new album, Love is Like, is due Aug. 15. The first single, “Priceless,” is a duet featuring BLACKPINK member and White Lotus star LISA. Guitarist James Valentine says he thinks that “Priceless” echoes the band’s classic sound from 20 years ago, but also nods to the kind of music they’ve been doing for the past decade.
“You know, I think with that style of groove, to me it really reminds me a lot of ‘Sunday Morning,'” James tells ABC Audio, referring to their 2005 hit. “And we were really lucky to get LISA on it, which was more similar to the sort of pop extravaganza approach that we’ve taken over, say, the last 10 years. So yeah, it’s got feet in both worlds.”
While James was happy to have LISA on the track, he admits he wasn’t exactly familiar with her at first.
“You know, I was late but my wife introduced me to BLACKPINK,” he says. “And then, I was a huge fan of White Lotus. So it was exciting to be watching the show, knowing that she was gonna be on the song.”
LISA is far from the first female artist Maroon 5 has collaborated with. Over the years, they’ve done songs with everyone from Gwen Stefani, Stevie Nicks, Rihanna and Christina Aguilera to SZA, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. Why does the group make it a point to work with women so often?
“I mean, the easy answer to that is we’re five dudes,” laughs James. “So we certainly have enough of the male perspective within the band. So in collaborating, I think it’s good to reach out and broaden our perspectives.”
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