"Middle Ground" is a song by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

. It was released as a single through

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Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, and

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

on May 19, 2023. The remix, a collaboration with American country singer

Mickey Guyton Candace Mycale "Mickey" Guyton (; born June 17, 1983) is an American country music artist. Raised in Texas, Guyton was exposed to various types of music at a young age, and her material incorporates elements of contemporary country, pop, and R&B ...

, was released on August 11, 2023.

Background

In a March 2023 interview with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

on ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday radio syndication, syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles contemporary hit radio, Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM a ...

'',

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine ( ; born March 18, 1979) is an American musician who is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and sole continuous member of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, for ...

revealed that new music was to be released within the year. "We are working on something that is unbelievably cool ..I'm very excited about this thing," he said to Seacrest. On May 11, 2023, the band announced on social media that "Middle Ground" would be released on May 19, 2023.

Composition

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

song, "Middle Ground" was written by

, Andrew Watt, Gregory Heinn,

Jon Bellion Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his 2016 single "All Time Low," which peaked at ...

Marvin Hemmings Marvin Hemmings, also known as Toneworld, is an American songwriter, producer, and pianist, best known for his work alongside producer Rodney Jerkins, as well as producing Top 10 gospel single "Withholding Nothing" by William McDowell. Hemmings ...

Pete Nappi Ocean Park Standoff is an American pop band made up of Samantha Ronson, Pete Nappi, and Ethan Thompson. Their debut EP was released on Hollywood Records on March 3, 2017. History The three band members originally met at a songwriting session in ...

, and

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), better known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won two Grammy Awards from 19 nomi ...

and was produced by Andrew Watt, Jon Bellion, and Pete Nappi.

Music video

The music video for "Middle Ground" was released on May 23, 2023. It was directed by David Dobkin, who has also directed videos for Maroon 5 in the past such as "

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", "

Girls Like You "Girls Like You" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 from their sixth studio album ''Red Pill Blues'' (2017). The track was written by lead singer Adam Levine, Starrah, Gian Stone, Cirkut, and Jason Evigan, with the latter two servi ...

", and "

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is Encoding (memory), encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future Action (philosophy), action. I ...

". The video features appearances from

's wife

Behati Prinsloo Behati Prinsloo ( , ; born 16 May 1988) is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in eleven Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows (2007–2015; 2018; 2024), and ...

, and their two children, Dusty Rose and Gio Grace Levine, as well as members of the band performing the song in an indoor studio and having an outdoor gathering.

Live performances

On May 23, 2023, Maroon 5 debuted "Middle Ground" live on the season 23 finale of the American reality television series '' The Voice''. It was the group's first performance on the show since performing " Beautiful Mistakes" on the season 20 finale in May 2021. On August 12, 2023, Maroon 5 performing the song with special guest, Mickey Guyton on the final night of Maroon 5: The Las Vegas Residency.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described "Middle Ground" as a "return to form", reminiscent to Maroon 5's debut studio album, '' Songs About Jane'' (2002).

Track listing

Digital download # "Middle Ground" – 3:39 Digital download – Remix # "Middle Ground" (featuring

) – 3:39

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2023 singles 2023 songs 222 Records singles Interscope Records singles Maroon 5 songs Music videos directed by David Dobkin Polydor Records singles American soft rock songs