By Jordan Bickham
Staff Writer

The sound of the crowd was deafening in the dark room as the scratching of a phone line reverberated throughout the American Airlines Center, signaling the beginning of “Payphone.”  Suddenly, the lights went on as Maroon 5 began its performance.  Lasers flashed throughout the stadium and the crowd sang along with the well-known melody as the band’s performance finally began, marking the beginning of a great concert.

On Thursday night, Dallas was graced by the presence of Maroon 5, one of today’s top bands.  With numerous singles ranking in the top 10 on iTunes and with a fan base spanning all around the globe, Maroon 5 has become prominent in pop culture.

Now, on its North American tour, Maroon 5 has finally returned to Dallas for its Overexposed tour.  Now, with new material from their recent Overexposed album that was released last June, the group came back to Dallas with a bang.

But, before the main attraction even took the stage, the concert began with another popular group, Owl City.  The band did an excellent job of getting the crowd pumped up with fun, electronic songs including “Fireflies” during which the room was dark minus the bits of light coming from the crowd’s cellphones, resembling fireflies.  The group wrapped up its performance with another one of its hits, Good Time, getting the crowd in a good mood.

Neon Trees excited the crowd even more with impressive vocals, a great light show and hypnotizing beats.  And, to get the crowd even more pumped, it made sure to play its two big hits: “Animal” and “Everybody Talks,” both of which were performed more impressively live than any recording.

Finally, at around nine o’clock, Maroon 5 hit the stage beginning with its hit “Payphone,” a great way to kick off an amazing concert.

After the incredible intro with “Payphone,” the group increased the energy in the arena by moving into a personal favorite of mine and one of the group’s most popular songs in their history: “Makes Me Wonder.”  The song was performed to a tee with a few alterations in the vocals to highlight lead singer, Adam Levine’s talents.

“Makes Me Wonder” was from its album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long from 2007, but instead of sticking in the past, it went on to Lucky Strike from its new album, Overexposed.  “Lucky Strike,” an upbeat, catchy tune got everyone on their feet and dancing.

But, after “Lucky Strike,” the band decided to slow things down a bit and go back in time to the biggest hit of the band’s career and one of its classic tunes, “Sunday Morning.”  The song was performed beautifully as the crowd sang along with the jazzy, sweet melody.

Next, the group went intense again with a great, passionate performance of “If I Never See Your Face Again.”  But, quickly after that, it slowed down again with an incredible version of “Wipe Your Eyes” during which most everyone was swaying and singing along.  It continued at this slow tempo with the popular track, “Won’t Go Home Without You” from its It Won’t Be Soon Before Long album from 2007.

Things quickly sped up pace and became more intense with great renditions of “Harder to Breathe” and “Wake Up Call,” both from previous albums.

After that, the group went back to its current album with a performance of the album’s predeceasing single, “One More Night,” during which the whole crowd was dancing along to the fun beat.

Finally, the band had a blast from the past with energetic, yet beautiful renditions of “Misery” from its 2010 album and “This Love” from their 2002 album, both of which are considered some of Maroon 5’s greatest songs.

Maroon 5’s classic and most beloved song, especially by the ladies, “She Will Be Loved,” was sung beautifully as Levine sang it acoustically on a small stage in the center of the room among the sea of people.

Before the concert ended though, the energy had to be built back up again, which was done through the performance of “Stereo Hearts,” then “Daylight and then with the final song, “Moves Like Jagger.”

Overall, Maroon 5 put on an incredible concert with a mesmerizing light show, powerful vocals and songs that kept the crowd singing along.