Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine is totally the modern-day version of a rock star with a body full of tattoos. Let's take a moment and explore the meaning behind the iconic inks below.
By Sweta Choudhury
Updated on May 31, 2024 | 02:02 AM IST| 20.5K
Adam Levine - (Instagram/ Adam Levine)
Adam Levine is a fine-looking man who is a rockstar, both in terms of his talent and his looks. The Maroon 5's lead singer andturned TV host onThe Voice has most of his body covered with multiple tattoos that have left fans super curious over the years.Many on Twitter were fixated by the vast amount of body ink Levine has accumulated, while others were intrigued by his back tattoo featuring a mermaid holding a skull.
In 2013, the singer was named as the Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE's magazine. Shortly after the cover shoot, the singer spoke to PEOPLE and addressed the philosophy and sentiments behind most of his tattoos."This was my first tattoo, "I was 21. It was five days after 9/11. I felt this need to say something with this peaceful thing on my body." Here's a complete list of Adam Levine's tattoos and the symbolic meaning behind them.
1.Dove ( upper left bicep)
The sensational singer was just 21 years old when he decided to get this tattoo, Ita dove on his upper right bicep. “This was my first tattoo,” he toldPeoplein 2013. “I was 21. It was five days after 9/11. I felt this needed to say something with this peaceful thing on my body.”
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2.Los Angeles (upper right bicep)
This tattoo was dedicated to his roots in his hometown of Los Angeles.Adam Noah Levine wasborn on March 18, 1979, in Los Angeles to Fredric Levine, the founder of the retail chain M. Fredric, and Patsy (née Noah) Levine, an admissions counselor. The singer began his career in 1994 with Kara’s Flowers, a rock band that disbanded after the commercial failure of their first album, The Fourth World.
But as faith had it planned,he found immense recognitionas the lead singer of Maroon 5, a pop-rock band he formed with some of the former members of Kara’s Flowers. The singer's current net worth is$120 million.
3.California (stomach)
As previously mentioned, Levine was raised in Los Angeles, and perhaps California is another tribute to his roots.The word stretched over his navel. To drive home the point of his Southern California love. He told PEOPLE“Not many people were born and raised in L.A. Gotta wear that badge of pride.” Well, considering the singer's fit body and striking features, the tattoo looks like it was just made for him.
4.Beaded necklace (chest)
This one's a random tattoo that the Maroon 5 lead singer decided to get."I don't think that you have to necessarily ascribe meaning behind every tattoo," he told PEOPLE about his beaded necklace choice. Moreover, this tattoo was mostly for style and aesthetic purposes.
5.Tiger (right arm)
"This was inspired by my love of this amazing book of Tibetan drawings," he told PEOPLE. Tibetan art, uniquely, isan art form that utilizesfiguration and representational images to express abstraction. Moreover, especially through its use of mandalas, Tibetan art is an integral part of spiritual practice and process. A tiger is a powerful animal and mostlyrepresentsfearlessness and protection. Placed alongside Buddhist deities, the tiger motifs were believed to protect the monks in the monasteries. Withthe evolution of narrative, it's those majestic tigers now who need protection from humans.
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6. Shark (side tattoo)
"I've always had a strange fascination with sharks. I think they are the most fascinating creatures on Earth. I guess the tattoo had something to do with that," he told PEOPLE in 2013. Sharks' tattoossymbolizea keep moving forward” attitude, they are at the top of the food chain within the ocean. Sharks have no natural predators, and tattoos can representan unwillingness to be victimized or intimidated by others.
7. Eagle ( rib cage)
"Tattoos wind up being this strange road map or narrative over the years," he explained to PEOPLE. "They always remind me of this long, weird, awesome journey life has been." Eagles usually representresilience, courage, and an unwavering spirit of being alive. They are strong, beautiful and ambitious.
8.Sanskirt (left chest)
"A few years ago, I fell in love with yoga. The word 'tapas' stands for fire, and passion, This keeps me connected to something that changed my life." The Sanskrit language comes froman Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient documents are the Vedas, composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit. It is one of the oldest and toughest languages.
9.Mermaid (back tattoo)
This is one of Levin's best tattoos, which is also the most beautiful, aesthetic, and striking.He began his large back mural with a mermaid tattoo that hadangel wings and cradling a skull, then added detailing with an intricate scene around it showing crashing waves, a lost ship and swallows, which took his tattoo artist, Bryan Randolph, six months to create.
10.True Love(fingers)
Ada Levin was scared to tattoo his fingers and even said during the PEOPLE interview, "I don't do below the waist. You can't do the hands, that's sacred too, that's what you make things with; I'm tied to my hands. I just can't do hands." However, he changed his mind and inked the word true love, perhaps for his wife,Behati Prinsloo, who is also currently pregnant with their child.The musician debuted the tattoo with a picture of him holding his wife's butt and fans surely went gaga over it. Check it out below.
11.Mom (right wrist) and Noah (rightside of abdomen)
The musician inked the word MOM onto the right side of his abdomen and then In an Instagram photo snuggling up to his daughter Dusty Rose, the singer shared a glimpse of the word Noah across his stomach, which is a tribute to his mom, whose maiden name is Noah, which also happens to be Levine's middle name.
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In a 2011 interview with Piers Morgan, Adam Levine, the lead singer of the band Maroon 5, credited his mom, Patsy Noah, with having “started me out on the path” of music. “My mom was a massive Beatles fan,” he explained. As he toldRolling Stonein April 2004, “We’d sit in [my mom’s] car... and we’d listen toAbbey Road, and she’d quiz me about which Beatle was singing a certain song.”
Furthermore, being a single mother, Levin holds her close to his heart, and he often showcases his love for people by honoring them with fresh ink, so these two werefor her.
As he joked toPeoplemagazine in 2013, the heart was “[a] last-ditch effort to gain my mother’s approval. She hates this one slightly less than the [other tattoos].”
12.Ocean waves (left leg)
In March 2021, Levin dedicated three days to gettinghisocean wave leg design. This was done by an artist calledNathan Kostechko. He posted a bunch of Instagram stories and gave his fans a look after the fresh ink was ready.
13.Japanese-inspired design(right leg)
If you thought that was it, probably not.In August 2021, Levine spent13 hours getting an intricate Japanese-inspired designinked on his right leg by tattoo artist Bill Canales. The musician recorded the whole process for his fans and posted a time-lapse video later. with the caption, "13 hours later... Check it out.
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13.Butterfly on a spiderweb (neck)
During the greatFacebook/Instagram outagein October 2021, Levine made the most of the downtime by tattooing anew design in the center of his neck. Well, from what we know, a butterfly signifies freedom, transformation, and personal growth. However, butterflies on a spiderweb could also symbolizegrowth and development. due to butterflies going through metamorphosis.
