For Adam Levine, agreeing to headline the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show with his band Maroon 5 was not an easy decision.
While the gig has been considered a big honor in past years, it has now been highly criticized in wake of the NFL’s treatment of Colin Kaepernick and other football players, who have decided to take a knee in protest of police brutality and inequality.
“No one thought about it more than I did,” Levine said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight Thursday ahead of the big game. “No one put more thought and love into this than I did.”
Many fans have opted to boycott the Super Bowl and the NFL itself in support of Kaepernick, 31, and all players who have been criticized or penalized for taking a knee.
Their feelings and voices Adam said, will not be neglected.
“They will be [heard] — that’s all I want to say because I don’t want to spoil anything,” Adam explained to Entertainment Tonight.
“And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this. I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music,” Levine said.
“My life’s work and what I put out into the universe has been positive and hopefully inspiring… So, what I would say is, you know, we are going to do what we keep on doing, hopefully without becoming politicians and continuing to use the one voice we know how to use properly.”
Levine also revealed the performance itself will be a message.
“I think we wanted to make sure we were able to speak once again through the music… once we processed these things, it took a lot of looking inward and introspection and I thought to myself, ‘What is my greatest tool, you know, what is the thing that I can use to express myself… the best way for the band to express themselves, and how are we going to do it this year? What do we owe the people?”
“I am beyond proud of the finished product, and literally never, never been more excited in my entire life to present this to the people because I believe that it’s truly a reflection of all of us,” Levine added.
Levine’s interview with Entertainment Tonight comes after Maroon 5’s decision to opt out of the joint press conference with the NFL.
A representative for the NFL told PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday, “Maroon 5 has been working hard on a Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show that will meet and exceed the standards of this event. As it is about music, the artists will let their show do the talking as they prepare to take the stage this Sunday.”
On Tuesday morning, Maroon 5, the NFL and Interscope Records announced their decision to make a $500,000 contribution to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ahead of the halftime performance, which will take place on Feb. 3 this year.
“Playing the Super Bowl has been a dream of our band for a long time,” Levine told PEOPLE in a statement.
“We thank the NFL for the opportunity and also to them, along with Interscope Records, for making this donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters, which will have a major impact for children across the country.”
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Travis Scott will also join Maroon 5 — which, along with Levine, consists of band members PJ Morton, James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, Matt Flynn and Sam Farrar — and rapper Big Boi for the halftime performance.
Maroon 5’s 2019 Super Bowl LIII Pepsi Halftime Show airs Feb. 3 on CBS.
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