Adam Levine thinks Maroon 5’s late manager would have wanted them to take on the "challenge" of the Super Bowl halftime show.
The 39-year-old singer and his bandmates have sparked controversy by agreeing to perform at the halftime show in Atlanta, and Adam has revealed his childhood friend Jordan Feldstein – who was the group’s manager until his death in December 2017 – was on his mind as he made the decision.
He told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "I am here because of me, and I am here because of the band, but I am here because of Jordan. This was our thing, you know?
"This is what we wanted … Ultimately when looking at all this stuff and needing him and listening for him, that was a huge factor in all of this – accepting this challenge [to perform] and a challenge it has been, obviously.
"But I got it. At the end of the day, I know what he wanted me to do, and I know how he would have wanted me to do it. So, it’s gotten me this far, you know? I feel like he is always with me somehow. He is there."
Feldstein passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles, aged 40.
Adam has insisted he’s thought long and hard about the decision to perform during the game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
He explained: "No one thought about it more than I did. No one put more thought and love into this than I did … I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt."
Various artists are rumoured to have rejected the chance to perform during this year’s halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who started the take-a-knee protest movement in response to racial inequality.