Maroon 5, originally called Kara's Flowers, has been in the business since 1995. They had their start as a grunge/garage band and grew out of the childhood friendships that began in Jr. High in LA. The first band members were Adam Levine, Mickey Madden, Ryan Dusick and Jesse Carmichael. When their first stint as a band was partly successful, making them the toast of their high school, but mostly failure leaving their first album alone on the shelf, they decided to go to college to figure out life. While there, they were met with music that they had never been exposed to; urban and hip-hop music found its way into their view and they were hooked immediately.Reborn, with a determination to produce the music that was mostly new to them, the band regrouped and added vocalist James Valentine giving themselves the name that they have become known under, Maroon 5. Their new sound, new name and new attitude brought the band the attention that they needed, giving them a chance to make themselves known. They were picked up by Octane Records and their record Songs About Jane was released in 2002.The group toured non-stop to support the slow-developing success of their much-loved album, eventually resulting in injuries to the band's drummer Ryan Dusick who was replaced by Matt Flynn in 2006. The album did become a success, however, and eventually made it big, topping the charts as number one on The Billboard 200. That success was also met by their 2007 album It Won't Be Soon Before Long, which also hit number two in Canada. In 2004 they won the Best New Artist Award at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. The band has enjoyed immense success over the past few years, and looks likely to continue to do so.