Maroon 5’s singer Adam Levine dedicated the band’s Super Bowl halftime performance to “Jordy,” his late manager Jordan Feldstein. Feldstein, the older brother of actor Jonah Hill, died in December 2017 at the age of 40 of blood clot in his leg.
As the band’s and Levine’s representative, Feldstein negotiated Levine’s coach role on NBC’s “The Voice.”
The 14-minute-performance included guests Travis Scott and Big Boi. The band’s participation in the show had come under fire in recent weeks because performing during the game–the biggest global stage for a musician, due to an estimated 100 million viewers–is an endorsement of the National Football League’s treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The league’s stance toward the athlete, who has not played professionally since his controversial stance to “take a knee” during the National Anthem before games, has polarized audiences and complicated this year’s halftime performance, among other issues.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight last week, Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine said the band “expected” the backlash.