"Memories" is a song by American band Maroon 5, released through 222 and Interscope Records on September 20, 2019, as the lead single from the band's seventh studio album Jordi.^[2][3]

Lyrically, the song pays homage to the memories of a loved one who has since passed. The song divided critics, with many panning its production but others calling it "sweet". It was listed as one of the worst songs of 2019 by Spin magazine. The song contains a sample of "Canon in D Major" by German composer Johann Pachelbel, and its chorus is based on "No Woman, No Cry" by Jamaican band Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was written by Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine, Stefan Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Michael Pollack, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Jon Bellion, and Vincent Ford. Levine and the production team the Monsters and the Strangerz produced the song. The single peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number one on the international music charts.

It is Maroon 5's final single with bassist Mickey Madden, who announced his departure from the band in 2020, following his arrest for domestic violence.^[4]

The band's lead singer, Adam Levine, explained: "This song is for anyone who has ever experienced loss. In other words, this song is for all of us."^[5] The song is based on the loss of the band's manager and Levine's friend, Jordan Feldstein who died in December 2017, from pulmonary embolism.^[6] According to guitarist, James Valentine: "It's a different kind of song for us…It's an important song for us. You know, we experienced some loss in the last couple of years. We lost our longtime manager, Jordan Feldstein. We heard the skeleton of this song and thought it matched where we were at."^[2] Valentine also addressed with the people from around the world who been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, stated: "I think the message is so simple and pure, resonates with everybody. We've all lost people, and especially over the last couple of years [with COVID-19], I think it's just become more important for people."^[7]

In an interview of The Howard Stern Show, Levine said: "I needed this song", he continued: "In a world that's increasingly chaotic and crazy and angry in a lot of ways... rather than fight about things, it's nice to have a common ground and all of us have had loss... [It's about loss] and celebrate them too, which I think it's important".^[8]

"Memories" was released on September 20, 2019.^[9] Maroon 5 released four remixed versions of the song, featuring Dillon Francis on December 13, 2019, followed by Devault (December 16), Cut Copy (December 18),^[10] and a remix featuring American rappers Nipsey Hussle and YG (this remix is also included on the Jordi album, alongside the original version of "Memories"). A 7-inch vinyl single was released on Record Store Day (October 24, 2020), which includes the song, the Dillon Francis remix and a 20-page photo & lyric booklet.^[11]

"Memories" was written by Adam Levine, Stefan Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Michael Pollack, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Jon Bellion and Vincent Ford, and produced by Levine and the Monsters and the Strangerz.^[12] The song is based on the harmonic sequence and melody of "Canon in D" by Johann Pachelbel and "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.^[12][13] The song is in the key of B major, and Levine's vocals span from D#4 to the high note of G#5.^[14]

"Memories" generated a polarised reception by the music critics, Rolling Stone India listed it among the worst songs of 2019.^[15] In The Guardian, Graeme Virtue was critical of the track's "trite" lyrics, and dismissed it as "fun-free dreck".^[16] Pitchfork's Dani Blum found the guitar line "cloying" and the take on tragedy "pallid".^[17] Evening Standard reviewer David Smyth called the song's use of "Canon in D Major" a "ghastly poaching".^[18] Jason Friedman of Paste derided it for being as "viscerally annoying" as the band's 2016 single "Don't Wanna Know".^[19] Spin listed "Memories" as one of the worst songs of 2019, describing it as "a replica of a replica of a replica, sticky with the residue of borrowed emotion but hollow of anything resembling its own".^[20]

In a more enthusiastic review, Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone viewed the song as "a sweet, somber, genuinely felt ballad".^[21] Similarly, El Hunt of NME called it a "sharp pop song" with "substance and heart".^[22] Maeve McDermott of USA Today felt the track is "primed for end-of-summer nostalgia" and compared Levine's vocals to Sting.^[23]

"Memories" debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[24] and later peaked at number two behind Post Malone's "Circles" to become the band's 10th top-five track and 15th top-ten track.^[25] This made Maroon 5 only the second band (the other is the Rolling Stones) to have a top-two hit on the Hot 100 in three different decades (2000s, 2010s and 2020s).^[26] The song additionally peaked at number one on the Adult Top 40 chart, giving the band its fourteenth number one there,^[27] and at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it remained for 20 weeks.^[28][29] At the end of 2020, "Memories" ranked at number eight on the Hot 100 year-end chart.^[30]

On October 6, 2019, Maroon 5 performed "Memories" for the first time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which aired on October 7.^[44] The following day, band members Levine and Valentine performed an acoustic version of the song on The Howard Stern Show.^[45] In December 2019, the band played the song on Red Pill Blues Tour, during the last shows in Doha and Las Vegas. On February 1, 2020, Maroon 5 performed the song at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest, a pre-show for Super Bowl LIV in Miami and made a tribute to Kobe Bryant, with his daughter Gianna and seven other victims of the Calabasas helicopter crash.^[46][47] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band performed in isolation with a remote version of the song for the at home edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 12, 2020, with Levine dedicated to Bryant.^[48][49]

In June 2021, Maroon 5 played the song on Today, to promote the album Jordi.^[50] In September 2021, the band performed "Memories" at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey for the CNN television special Shine a Light: A Tribute to the Families of 9/11, to commemorate with the 20th anniversary of September 11 attacks in New York City.^[51] On January 26, 2024, Maroon 5 performed the song with French cellist Gautier Capuçon at the Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes charity event organized by the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, in Paris.^[52]

The band also performed "Memories" for their residency titled Maroon 5: The Las Vegas Residency.^[53]

‹See Tfd›

• List of number-one songs of 2019 (Malaysia)
• List of number-one singles of 2020 (Poland)
• List of number-one songs of 2019 (Singapore)
• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2020