I hate to be the bearer of bad news or to be a total cynic, but I'm calling it now: Maroon 5's "Sugar" video was staged. I'll be the first to admit that I am a HUGE fan of this band. They are easily my favorite musicians and I can't get enough of them performing live. Also, I'll say this upfront as well: I love this new video. It's cute. It's fun. The song is catchy. Plus, Adam Levine in a tux sporting scruff? Yeah, I need more of that as well. However, after watching the video several times, it crossed my mind that parts of the video were probably staged — mainly those weddings.
According to Levine, "Sugar" was not staged and the band did indeed surprise these bride and grooms. As he told Entertainment Tonight,
[It was] stressful to arrange all of it. It was a lot of fun. It felt good to kind of surprise these people and make them happy. Happy that they liked our band too. It would have been a total disaster [if not].
In a press release, Levine also vowed the wedding crashing was real:
It was an out of body experience. I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests. Being able to create an unforgettable experience for several people was the highlight of it all.
Well, I'm going to have to disagree. Here are a few reasons why.
This "Groom"...
Recognize him? I feel pretty confident that is actor Nico Evers-Swindell. For those Lifetime fanatics out there, you'll remember him best for playing Prince William in the movie William & Kate. Also, Evers-Swindell married actress Megan Ferguson (she's shown in the second picture) in 2011. First, his "bride" in the video is not Ferguson. Second, if the video was recently shot, then there's no way this wedding is legit. The timeline is off. Admittedly, maybe Evers-Swindell and Ferguson are now divorced and he just got recently married? However, I have found nothing to confirm that, like the fact that Ferguson shared this photo with her hubby two months ago.
The Lip-Synching
Why does it look like they are lip-synching? If they actually showed up at the spur of the moment at these weddings, wouldn't they be really singing? Maybe my mind and eyes are playing tricks one me, but it looks like they are mouthing the words.
The Cameras
If this was all staged, then why are cameras there before Maroon 5 shows up? You can't tell me that the guests, the brides, and the grooms didn't see those cameras and then were all surprised once that sheet dropped. I understand they wanted to capture the before, during, and after moments, but it just seems too good to be true.
So, were the weddings really staged? According to those quotes above from Levine, no. However, I just find it hard to believe that the weddings weren't.
Update: The Instagram accounts of some participants in the video give further examples of whether the video shoot was staged. Jessica Davis posted a video of herself at the shoot along with the caption "I had such an amazing day shooting with these oh-so-dapper gentlemen!" with one of her hashtags being "#actress." Additionally, an Instagram posted by bride Sharis Shahnazarian from a different wedding, seem to hint at Maroon 5 being a surprise. with a photo with the caption, "OK, last one but this is just too #priceless not to post! Everyone's reaction when the curtain dropped and @maroon5 came on stage!"
Images: Maroon 5/YouTube (4); Getty Images
