# Overexposed (album)
**Overexposed** is the fourth studio album by the American pop rock band [Maroon 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/maroon-5), released on June 26, 2012.[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2012/03/27/maroon-5-announce-new-album-overexposed-to-release-june-26/) It was executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producer [Max Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-martin) and marked a deliberate turn toward mainstream [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) pop, built with outside writers and producers including Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco after the band's 2010 album *Hands All Over* underperformed commercially.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) • [3](https://www.musicconnection.com/qa-with-maroon-5-2/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Maroon 5, fourth studio album[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2012/03/27/maroon-5-announce-new-album-overexposed-to-release-june-26/) |
| Released | June 26, 2012[1](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2012/03/27/maroon-5-announce-new-album-overexposed-to-release-june-26/) |
| Executive producer | Max Martin; contributors include Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco[3](https://www.musicconnection.com/qa-with-maroon-5-2/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) |
| Chart peaks | No. 2 in the US and UK; No. 1 on the Official Scottish Albums Chart[4](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/overexposed-maroon-5/) • [5](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/maroon-5-overexposed/) |
| Notable singles | "Payphone" (feat. Wiz Khalifa), "One More Night", "Daylight", "Love Somebody"[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) • [4](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/overexposed-maroon-5/) |
| Critical reception | Metacritic: 2 positive, 11 mixed, and 1 negative reviews out of 14[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore) |
## Background
Maroon 5 attributed the commercial stumble of *Hands All Over* (2010) to a lack of direction. According to Nielsen SoundScan that album sold 1.1 million copies, half as many as 2007's *[It Won't Be Soon Before Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/it-wont-be-soon-before-long)*. Singer [Adam Levine](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-levine) said the band "didn't know what kind of record we were making," and guitarist James Valentine described it as a hodgepodge of disparate ideas. Levine recalled waking one morning with the realization: "We love having huge songs... And there was a slight lull in our ability to make that happen. We needed help."[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html)
The catalyst was "Moves Like Jagger," recorded in 2011 with [Benny Blanco](https://www.edgepedia.org/benny-blanco) and featuring Levine's *The Voice* co-star [Christina Aguilera](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-aguilera). The single topped charts in 18 countries and sold more than 5 million copies in the United States. Levine called it the song that "totally revived the band," and [Valentine](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentine) said its success provided the blueprint for *Overexposed* and opened the band to outside collaborations.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html)
## Production and sound
For *Overexposed* the band enlisted what the Los Angeles Times called "a small army of Top 40 mercenaries," including Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, and Benny Blanco, the songwriter-producers behind hits such as [Kelly Clarkson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-clarkson)'s "Since U Been Gone" and [Katy Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/katy-perry)'s "Teenage Dream." This was a reversal for a group that had long positioned itself outside the pop-industrial complex; Levine had told Billboard in 2010 that no one outside the band's inner circle had ever written a note for them.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) The album was executive produced by Max Martin and has been described as illuminating "a sleeker strain of modern pop."[3](https://www.musicconnection.com/qa-with-maroon-5-2/)
Stylistically the record runs from reggae and disco sounds to contemporary electronic dance beats, while preserving the band's melodic streak and Levine's white-soul vocals and punching up the four-on-the-floor groove on tracks such as "Lucky Strike" and "Doin' Dirt."[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) • [7](https://www.pluggedin.com/album-reviews/maroon-5-overexposed/)
## Songs and singles
The standard edition contains 12 tracks, from "One More Night" through "Beautiful Goodbye."[8](https://interscope.com/products/overexposed-vinyl) The lead single, "Payphone," features a verse from rapper [Wiz Khalifa](https://www.edgepedia.org/wiz-khalifa) and sat at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week before the album's release.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html) "One More Night," the second single, was number one in the United States for nine weeks.[9](https://los40.com/2025/08/15/maroon-5-y-como-supero-ser-un-one-hit-wonder-para-seguir-triunfando-con-su-octavo-disco-love-is-like/) "Daylight" and the [Ryan Tedder](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-tedder) co-write "Love Somebody" followed, and *Overexposed* became the first Maroon 5 album to deliver four tracks that reached the highest tier of the Billboard listings.[4](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/overexposed-maroon-5/)
A deluxe edition added remixes of "Payphone," the previously released "Moves Like Jagger," a cover of Prince's "Kiss," and a reworked version of "Wasted Years," a song first performed on the 2005 Honda Civic Tour.[10](https://www.maroon5br.com/maroon5/discografia/albuns-de-estudio/overexposed/)
## Commercial performance
*Overexposed* peaked at No. 2 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and by Christmas 2012 had sold almost a million copies in the US alone.[4](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/overexposed-maroon-5/) In the UK it entered the Official Albums Chart at No. 2 on July 7, 2012, spent 9 weeks in the Top 10 and 46 weeks in the Top 100, on the A&M/Octone label (catalog number 3704278); it reached No. 1 on the Official Scottish Albums Chart.[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/maroon-5-overexposed/)
## Critical reception
Professional reviews were largely mixed. Of 14 critic reviews tallied on Metacritic, 2 were positive, 11 mixed, and 1 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore) Rolling Stone gave the album 70 out of 100, calling it "top-shelf radio sucrose."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore) Absolute Punk scored it 85, writing that although not every song matched the hooks of "Moves Like Jagger" or "Payphone," the co-writers and producers kept breaking new ground for the band.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore) A recurring criticism was the heavy polish: one review described the album as glossed up with Max Martin and Shellback electro hooks, [Auto-Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/auto-tune), and a shine that is "attractive at first sight, but cold and soulless inside."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore) The Independent (UK) called it lacklustre and doubted it would overturn the band's decline with the Mutt Lange-produced *Hands All Over*.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/publication/the-independent-uk?dist=neutral&filter=albums&num_items=100&page=9&sort_options=critic_score)
## Legacy
The album's commercial formula carried directly into the band's next records. Maroon 5 signed up for "more of the same" for its fifth studio album, *V* (2014), which brought back executive producer Max Martin along with Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder, and Shellback.[12](https://www.mixonline.com/recording/marooned-at-conway-again) • [13](https://device.report/m/c86ce39d5bc7cf1ef4fca47f4d34a2e86835bab58008574c9fe6eda7e7f347f1.pdf)
## References
1. [Universal Music Canada: Maroon 5 announce new album Overexposed, to release June 26](https://www.universalmusic.ca/2012/03/27/maroon-5-announce-new-album-overexposed-to-release-june-26/)
2. [Mikael Wood, "Maroon 5 built 'Overexposed' to be just that," Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2012](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-24-la-ca-maroon5-20120624-story.html)
3. [Music Connection Magazine, "Q&A with Maroon 5" (October 2012)](https://www.musicconnection.com/qa-with-maroon-5-2/)
4. [uDiscover Music, "Overexposed: The Juggernaut Hit The Public Couldn't Get Enough Of"](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/overexposed-maroon-5/)
5. [Official Charts Company, "Overexposed – Maroon 5" chart history](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/maroon-5-overexposed/)
6. [Metacritic, "Overexposed by Maroon 5 Reviews and Tracks"](https://www.metacritic.com/music/overexposed/maroon-5?recent-sort=userscore)
7. [Plugged In, "Overexposed" album review](https://www.pluggedin.com/album-reviews/maroon-5-overexposed/)
8. [Interscope Records, Overexposed Vinyl tracklist](https://interscope.com/products/overexposed-vinyl)
9. [LOS40, "Maroon 5 y cómo superó ser un 'one hit wonder'"](https://los40.com/2025/08/15/maroon-5-y-como-supero-ser-un-one-hit-wonder-para-seguir-triunfando-con-su-octavo-disco-love-is-like/)
10. [Maroon 5 Brasil, "Overexposed" discography entry](https://www.maroon5br.com/maroon5/discografia/albuns-de-estudio/overexposed/)
11. [Metacritic, The Independent (UK) publication profile](https://www.metacritic.com/publication/the-independent-uk?dist=neutral&filter=albums&num_items=100&page=9&sort_options=critic_score)
12. [Mix Online, "Marooned At Conway, Again"](https://www.mixonline.com/recording/marooned-at-conway-again)
13. [Billboard Magazine, September 13, 2014 issue](https://device.report/m/c86ce39d5bc7cf1ef4fca47f4d34a2e86835bab58008574c9fe6eda7e7f347f1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Pop albums › 2010s albums › Fourth and later albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license