The video for Adam Levine and Co.’s latest smash is so sweet and fun you might not realize at first how suggestive the song itself is.
“It’s December 6, 2014,” a smiling, tuxed-up Levine tells us as he and his band exit a nondescript building and hastily pile into a van and two vintage cars. “We’re going to drive across L.A. and hit every wedding we possibly can. It’s gonna be awesome. And we’re late.”
A few moments later, the band’s roadies crash their first celebration of the day (with the bride’s father looking confused and concerned), hastily erecting a stage of sorts and hanging white cloth around it. With Maroon 5 ensconced inside, the cloth drops and the sounds of “Sugar” ring out. The bride squeals and screams. The groom eventually smiles. The shocked guests go nuts, dancing and raising toasts.
Then the band does it seven more times, with the same result.
The question is, of course, whether or not these little ambush concerts were real or staged. The answer is yes. Yes, they were real, and yes, they were staged, with a reported mixture of authentically crashed weddings and ones where actors have either been identified or confessed their roles in the video.
Levine plays it cool and happy about the whole thing, saying in a press release, “I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests. Being able to create an unforgettable experience for several people was the highlight of it all.”
If only the song itself was just as grand.
A close look at the lyrics to this funky, ’70s-esque hit reveals that “Sugar” is about an insecure man in search of healing and wholeness … through sex.
“I’m hurting, baby, I’m broken down,” Levine begins. “I need your loving, loving/ … My broken pieces/you pick them up/ … When I’m without ya/I’m so insecure/You’re the one thing, one thing/I’m living for.”
Well, maybe there’s one other thing this desperate dude is living for: “I don’t wanna be needing your love/I just wanna be deep in your love/And I gotta get one little taste/Your sugar/Yes, please/Won’t you come and put it down on me.”
While these may not be the most explicit lyrics ever penned, neither is there any doubt about what it means when Mr. Adam Levine asks a woman to “heal” him with her “sugar.”
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
