Singer Adam Levine finds 'Voice' beyond Maroon 5

The Associated Press, Friday, February 24, 2012, 6:09pm (PST)

NEW YORK (AP) -- From moving like Mick Jagger to dating Russian model Anne Vyalitsyna, Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine hasn't had problems attracting women in recent years.

In an interview, the 32-year-old said that even though he was a "nerdy" musician in high school, he still always had luck with the ladies.

"I loved hanging out with girls ... It was never an issue, how about that? And, of course, it's been magnified times 1,000 with this whole (fame) thing that's happened, so it's kind of crazy. I did OK. I did all right," he said, laughing.

Besides his music career, Levine has found success as one of the celebrity coaches on NBC's singing competition show "The Voice" alongside Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.

One of Levine's contestants, Javier Colon, won its first season. But not everyone thought it was a good idea for Levine to join the show.

"A musician's life is constantly filled with people saying, `Why are you doing this?'" he said. "I'm a fan of people saying that because it must mean I'm doing something right. I've never been a fan of the cookie-cutter way of life. I liked that this was spiking something new into what I do."

Despite Levine's success so far on the show, he said he doesn't really have a strategy when it comes to staying ahead of the other judges.

"I don't really strategize as much as I want the right people to sing the right songs the right way and to have the right moment to hopefully increase their chances of moving forward because that's my job on the show," he said. "I'm there to help people be fully realized and have people see the best versions of who they are."

When he's not juggling showbiz career, Levine is a huge basketball fan and roots for his hometown team, the Los Angeles Lakers. He also follows New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, the team's surprising breakout star.

"God bless him, man. He is an inspiring dude," Levine said. "And I love to see New York fired up about basketball again. That makes me really happy."

"The Voice" airs Mondays on NBC.

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Online:

http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/

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Alicia Rancilio covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar.