Why Adam Levine Was So Nervous Performing for Stevie Wonder
The Voice Season 27 Coach rightfully had butterflies in his stomach before singing in front of Stevie Wonder.
Even rock stars get butterflies in their stomachs. Maroon 5 frontman and returning Coach on The Voice Adam Levine recalled performing for the legendary Stevie Wonder and how nervous he was to cover one of the pianist's songs in front of him. Thankfully, a shout-out from the audience broke the tension.
Adam Levine was just "a kid" when Stevie Wonder invited him to perform
During a chat with Howard Stern in 2020, Levine recalled a special performance he gave for Stevie Wonder during a benefit concert near the start of his career. "That shit was crazy. It was crazy because — I was a kid, dude — I was living at the Chateau [Marmont Hotel] and I was fucking nuts. Couldn’t be bothered to do anything. And they were like, 'Stevie wants you to do this thing for him.' I’m like, cool. 'And we’re gonna do 'If It's Magic.' Great," Levine recalled.
The only problem?
"That’s a quiet song," Levine said. "You’re left very exposed. It’s your voice in a room full of people. And Stevie Wonder’s sitting there..."
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Levine got a shout-out from the crowd
Calling it "the scariest moment," Levine said "you could hear a pin drop" as he began to play. Levine wasn't as big of a star back then, so after Vivica A. Fox introduced him, there was no applause, just the opening notes of the song. But "right as I started singing, there was a woman in the audience who went, 'you go boy,'" Levine said, and the performance went off without a hitch. Looking back, Levine was also grateful to have the endorsement of Wonder. "It’s a very confidence boosting thing to have Stevie be the person who wanted me to do that," he said.
This wasn't the first time Levine had performed for Wonder. At a Live Aid concert, the pair sang Wonder's hit "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" together, but according to Levine, there was no rehearsal, not even a sound check. Wonder simply told him what part to sing and then called him out on stage.
He was "petrified" in the moment. "I didn’t move. My tour manager had to push me out," Levine told Stern. In footage from the concert, Levine said, "You see me running to the mic because I’m about to miss the verse." Relatable!
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