Adam Levine is opening up about the loss of longtime best friend and manager Jordan Feldstein after his death at the age of 40 in December 2017 due to a blood clot in his leg. The Maroon 5 frontman revealed to Ellen DeGeneres on Monday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the song “Memories” was actually written about Feldstein, as well as the experience of grief and loss, “which all of us share that in common.”
“I had just gone through losing my manager and best friend,” he told the talk show host of the inspiration behind the “heavy” song. “I was in diapers with this guy. And he passed away recently, and so this song came to me at a very interesting time.”
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Processing his emotions through music have been vital as The Voice alum tries to honor his friend and understand his own grieving.
“I filled in the holes with the proper words that I thought would match the experience that I had been going through. It’s very heavy,” he continued. “I have never had a song about anything quite like this. I miss him everyday and to me this is the best way to pay tribute to him.”
Performing the sentimental song live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Levine was clearly emotional, earning a hug from his host after the performance.
During his appearance on the show, Levine also announced an upcoming Maroon 5 tour and revealed how he’s been feeling since leaving The Voice behind.
“I really do miss it. I love the people that I met and worked with, and you all obviously know how I feel about [fellow coach] Blake [Shelton],” he said. “I do miss it but I don’t miss how much I had to work. I was constantly working for so many years — very lucky, very fortunate, very blessed and all that — but to just be able to stop in this moment to spend time with my new young family and just have the greatest time ever. Now I’m a stay-at-home dad. I just stay at home and do very little.”
Photo credit: Getty / Jason LaVeris
