Why Paul McCartney apologized after ‘insulting’ Adam Levine over Maroon 5’s Beatles covers

Why Paul McCartney apologized after 'insulting' Adam Levine over Maroon 5's Beatles covers

Can’t buy me love.

Adam Levine has revealed that Paul McCartney once apologized for “insulting” him after Maroon 5 covered two songs by The Beatles.

The “Payphone” singer, 46, opened up about the incident on “The Howard Stern Show” on Wednesday. The initial encounter unfolded in 2014 after Maroon 5 covered “Ticket to Ride” and “All My Loving” during the CBS special “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles” with McCartney and Ringo Starr in the audience.

Adam Levine on “The Howard Stern Show” on Wednesday, April 9. SiriusXM
Maroon 5 perform onstage during “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles” at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Jan. 27, 2014. Getty Images for NARAS

“Listen, man. I told you I’ve been scared a handful of f–king times in my life, that was definitely one of them,” Levine recalled. “I was like, ‘Holy s–t.’ I mean, I’m sorry man, but you can be too cool, but not always. It’s Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. F–k off if you’re gonna try to be cool about that.”

Levine added that McCartney, 82, pulled him aside after Maroon 5’s performance to let him know that The Beatles “did it better.”

“Paul kind of took me in close and he goes, ‘You know, we did it better,’” the “Maps” singer said. “And I thought it was so funny. I cracked up and I was like, ‘No s–t, you’re Paul McCartney.’”

Adam Levine of Maroon 5 playing guitar onstage during “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles.” Getty Images for NARAS
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the audience during “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles.” SiriusXM

It wasn’t until a few months later, during a party Levine was attending with his wife, Behati Prinsloo, that Macca apologized for “insulting” the Maroon 5 frontman.

“He’s like, ‘Hey man, I just wanted to let you know if that bothered you… I’ve been thinking about this. I didn’t want to insult you or anything,’” Levine remembered. “It was something like that, like, if I insulted you, I apologize. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. You’re good. Dude, you’re Paul f–king McCartney.’”

The “She Will Be Loved” singer said that the music legend’s apology “shattered” his notion of “your heroes being who they are.”

Paul McCartney and Adam Levine together at the 2015 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Christopher Polk

“It kind of shattered, in a great way, this whole thing about your heroes being who they are,” Levine explained. “He’s a human being with a beating heart and a really beautiful soul who actually was thoughtful enough to even take that into account that maybe for some reason my feelings might’ve been hurt, but of course they were not.”

Levine’s amusing story about McCartney came just days after “The Voice” coach announced that Maroon 5 is working on its first new album since their 2021 record, “Jordi.”

The band is also scheduled to hit the road again for a new tour in the fall.

Adam Levine on “The Howard Stern Show” on Wednesday, April 9. Getty Images for SiriusXM
Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon of The Beatles in 1963. Redferns

“There’s a single coming at the end of the month-ish. I’m really excited about it,” Levine announced on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night.

“An album is coming over the summer. Nonspecifically around the summertime. And then, even more nonspecifically, there is a tour coming in the fall-ish.”

As for McCartney, he and his former Beatles bandmates will be the subjects of four upcoming biopics directed by Sam Mendes.

While Paul Mescal will portray Macca on the big screen, Harrison Dickinson is signed on to play John Lennon, Barry Keoghan will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will portray George Harrison.

Content shared from nypost.com.

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