Even before “The Voice,” music fans knew Adam Levine as the frontman of the Grammy- winning group Maroon 5, but his popularity skyrocketed as soon as the NBC show debuted in 2011.
Equal parts competitive and compassionate, Levine immediately connected with both viewers and the contestants — even those who didn’t wind up on his team. While he’s known for challenging his team members to push themselves, especially during the battle rounds, he also offers emotional support, often breaking the tension with humor.
Here are a few of our favorite moments of the three-time winning judge’s reign on “The Voice” to date.
— In season nine when Team Gwen’s Braiden Sunshine performed Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” Levine heaped on praise — for Sunshine and his group — telling her she was fantastic and had great taste.
— In the season one finale, Levine was unable to conceal his joy when his team member, Javier Colon, became the first winner of “The Voice.”
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— In season five, Levine and Tessanne Chin — who went on to win the season —performed a stirring, Beatles-worthy rendition of “Let It Be.”
— Levine may have been the last of the four judges to spin around when Jordan Smith astounded them with his rendition of Sia’s “Chandelier” in the season nine blind auditions, but Levine built rapport with Smith over the fact that they’ve both been mistaken for women on the phone; Smith chose Team Adam and became the season’s winner.
— During the season eight blind auditions, Levine pretended to live out his dream by taking to the stage and singing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” to the amusement of all. Surprisingly, even coach Blake Shelton turned his chair around, but Levine “chose” Christina Aguilera as his coach.
— The first episode after Prince died began with Levine and his fellow judges sharing very heartfelt personal memories and their feelings about the icon’s passing.
— In season four, Levine finally managed to steal a country singer away from Shelton, setting the tone for all future steals between the two judges.
— Levine and Shelton’s pranks are legendary. After Shelton tweeted out Levine’s phone number during a live broadcast, Levine retaliated by having two loads of fresh manure dumped on Shelton’s truck — and had a live video feed set up to make sure Shelton saw it as it happened.
— Devastated by the death of his former trainee and season six finalist Christina Grimmie, who was murdered during a Florida autograph session in June, Levine called her mother and offered to pay the funeral and travel expenses.
— Those high notes Levine reached when he and co-judges Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus and Blake Shelton performed Aerosmith’s “Dream On” in memory of Grimmie in the season 11 premiere encapsulated the emotions of their loss.
