Getting married and settling down has a way of making one reevaluating one's past and current priorities. Such seems to be the case for Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in the band's latest video for the track "Girls Like You" featuring a verse from rapper Cardi B.
The song finds Levine counting all the ways he needs a "girl like you" and how it has made him want to leave his hard-partying days behind him. "Maybe it's 6:45 / Maybe I'm barely alive / Maybe you've taken my s**t for the last time / Maybe I know that I'm drunk / Maybe I know you're the one / Maybe I'm thinking it's better if you drive," he sing-raps midway through the song. The mid-tempo ditty is catchy and stays true more-or-less to the radio-friendly tunes we've come to expect from this ridiculously photogenic band.
For her part, Cardi breezes through with an effortless verse that proves that she is more than capable of holding her own in any genre. She provides a playful counter-argument to Levine's initial assessment, while also showcasing that everybody is worthy of redemption from their past. "Not too long I was dancing for dollars / You know it's really real if I let you meet my mama / You don't want a girl like me, I'm too crazy / For every other girl you meet, it's fugazi / I'm sure those other girls were nice enough / But you need someone to spice it up," she raps with her signature swag.
However, Cardi and Levine are far from the main attraction in this sweet video. Maroon 5 uses the clip as a means to celebrate women of all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds thanks to a healthy dose of celebrity guest appearances. It seems like literally everybody who's somebody pops up including Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Ora, Camila Cabello, Ellen DeGeneres and Tiffany Haddish, as they all dance around with Levine in a sparse room. Ashley Graham, Franchesca Ramsey, Gal Gadot, and Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown are also featured in the bouncy video. The #MeToo movement takes center stage thanks to Aly Raisman, the American gymnast who came forward as a victim of sexual assault at the hands of the Team USA physician Larry Nassar and ultimately helped bring him to justice. She makes a simple, yet powerful statement as she stands back-to-back with Levine, hands interlocked, while triumphantly wearing a shirt that says simply, "Always Speak Your Truth." The clip ends with a shot of Levine sweetly embracing his wife and daughter from behind, proving that a little love can save us from self-destruction.
