Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” is an undeniable earworm, but beyond its catchy melody, the song and its vocal performances by Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera offer a fascinating look into how race and gender are represented in pop music. At first listen, you might be drawn to the infectious beat and the name-dropping of rock icon Mick Jagger. However, a closer examination, especially of the singers’ use of melisma—those extended, ornamented vocal runs—reveals a deeper layer of meaning. This article will delve into how Levine and Aguilera’s distinct vocal styles in “Moves Like Jagger” contribute to a conversation about musical appropriation and the performance of masculinity and femininity in popular culture, all while keeping the dance floor in mind.
The Vocal Styles Face-Off: Melisma as a Battleground
Melisma, in music, is when a single syllable of text is sung across multiple notes. Think of those impressive vocal runs you hear in R&B and pop. In “Moves Like Jagger,” both Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera employ melisma, but in strikingly different ways. Let’s break down how their techniques contribute to the song’s overall message.
Levine’s Controlled Melisma: Masculinity and Mastery
Adam Levine’s use of melisma in “Moves Like Jagger” is surprisingly restrained. He primarily uses it on the phrase “mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oves,” stretching that single syllable dramatically. However, what’s notable is the deliberate nature of his ornamentation. Each note is clearly articulated, creating a sense of control and precision. It’s not a wild, unrestrained vocal flourish; it’s calculated and contained. This controlled approach to melisma can be interpreted as a performance of mastery, a vocal display that emphasizes a masculine command over the musical material. The way his melisma ends on a repeated note, creating a clear resolution, further reinforces this sense of control and definitive statement.
Aguilera’s Complex Melisma: Femininity and Undervalued Skill
Christina Aguilera, known for her vocal prowess and intricate melismatic runs throughout her career, takes a different approach in “Moves Like Jagger.” Her ornamentation is characterized by speed and complexity. When she delivers melisma, it’s compressed, packed with notes delivered in rapid succession, like in the lines “keep it” and “this.” Aguilera’s runs are technically more challenging than Levine’s, requiring significant vocal agility and dexterity. However, this very complexity, paradoxically, can be interpreted through a gendered lens as less masterful in a traditional, patriarchal view. Her quick, intricate melismas, while showcasing incredible skill, risk being perceived as “feminized” – slippery, hard to grasp, and perhaps even excessive in a pop context that often values simplicity and directness in male vocals. It’s worth noting that when Aguilera echoes Levine’s “moves like Jagger” line, her vocal style briefly shifts to become more similar to his – less melismatic and more syllabic – as if momentarily adopting a more “masculine” vocal delivery.
Melisma and Race: The Undercurrent of “Blackness”
The use of melisma in pop music is often associated with “blackness,” rooted in the rich vocal traditions of genres like R&B, gospel, and soul. Think of iconic singers like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, whose melismatic styles are deeply intertwined with their identities as Black female artists. In contemporary pop, melisma can often carry this racial connotation, acting as a sonic signifier of Black musicality. So, where does “Moves Like Jagger” fit into this racialized understanding of melisma?
Jagger’s “Moves”: Appropriation and a Racial History
Mick Jagger himself is no stranger to musical appropriation. His performance style, deeply influenced by Black blues and rock and roll artists, has often been seen as borrowing from and profiting from Black culture. To have “moves like Jagger” implies adopting this persona of raw, hypersexual energy that Jagger cultivated, a persona itself built on appropriations.
Maroon 5’s song, by invoking Jagger, taps into this complex history of racial and musical appropriation. However, the song cleverly shifts the focus. While Jagger’s “moves” are rooted in a racialized performance of masculinity, Maroon 5’s rendition, particularly through the music video, seems to redirect the emphasis towards gender. In the video, it’s predominantly women who embody the “Jagger” persona through costume and dance, while Levine himself largely refrains from overtly mimicking Jagger’s physicality. Instead, he presents a more conventionally “rock star” image, reminiscent of figures like Iggy Pop.
This gendered performance in the music video, combined with the feminized reading of Aguilera’s melisma, allows “Moves Like Jagger” to subtly obscure the racial politics inherent in Jagger’s original “moves.” The song encourages us to interpret “moves like Jagger” primarily through a lens of gender dynamics – Levine claiming a Jagger-esque mastery that, in this context, becomes associated with a mastery over femininity itself.
From “Swagger” to “Moves”: Domesticating Black Masculinity
The phrase “moves like Jagger” itself likely originates from hip-hop slang, where “swagger” is often rhymed with “Jagger.” This connection points to a lineage of Black male artists appropriating Jagger’s image, in a kind of “postmillennial black hipness” as the original article suggests. Maroon 5, in turn, appropriates this appropriation. By choosing “moves” instead of the more contemporary and racially charged “swagger,” Levine and Maroon 5 sanitize and domesticate the reference for a mainstream white audience. “Moves” is a more neutral, even old-fashioned term compared to “swagger,” which carries strong connotations of Black masculinity.
Ultimately, the “move” Levine gets from Jagger isn’t about dance steps or swagger, but about musical and racial appropriation itself. Just as Jagger and the Rolling Stones borrowed from Black musical traditions, Maroon 5 borrows from Jagger’s appropriated persona, further filtering and diluting its racial origins for mainstream consumption.
Conclusion: More Than Meets the Ear
“Moves Like Jagger” is more than just a catchy pop song to dance to. Through a careful analysis of the contrasting melismatic styles of Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera, and by unpacking the racial and gendered implications of invoking Mick Jagger, we can see how the song engages with complex issues of musical appropriation and the performance of identity. While seemingly lighthearted, “Moves Like Jagger” offers a fascinating case study in how pop music can reflect and subtly reinforce cultural power dynamics related to race and gender, all within a danceable, radio-friendly package.
