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Adam Levine

Adam Levine thanks critics 'for always pushing us' after panned Super Bowl halftime show

Portrait of Erin Jensen Erin Jensen
USA TODAY

It seems Adam Levine can only feel "This Love" after his scrutinized Super Bowl halftime performance

The Maroon 5 frontman was lambasted by Twitter critics, some of whom who would've liked less nipple from the singer who was shirtless during part of his act. But Levine seemed content based on an Instagram post he shared following the show. 

"When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the SBHTS, I took out my pen and just wrote," the judge on NBC's "The Voice" shared. 

"Some of the words that came to me in that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight," he added sharing images of the lanterns spelling out "one" and "love." 

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"We thank the universe for this historic opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage," Levine, 39, continued. "We thank our fans for making our dreams possible. And we thank our critics for always pushing us to do better."

Levine also shared the list of words with followers, which included "Forgive," "Embrace," "Inspire," Unify," "Stand," "Kneel," and "Overcome."

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Levine and Maroon 5 faced months of criticism after signing onto the Super Bowl halftime show. More than 100,000 fans signed a change.org petition urging the band to drop out of the show well before they even confirmed they were playing.

Levine addressed the controversy with "Entertainment Tonight" Thursday, telling Kevin Frazier, "It's what it is. We expected it. We'd like to move on from it and... speak through the music." 

Levine added that he consulted many people before making the decision to perform amid the controversy over the NFL's handling of players like Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem. "I silenced all the noise and listened to myself," Levine said, "and made my decision based upon how I felt."

Contributing: Maeve McDermott

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