Adam Noah Levine was born on March 18, 1979, in Los Angeles, California. He formed his first band, Kara's Flowers, while attending the private Brentwood School with friends and fellow students Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick. The band released its first album, The Fourth World, in 1997, as high school seniors. Kara's Flowers released one single, "Soap Disco," and appeared on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210, before finding success elusive and breaking up.
Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles for Long Island, New York, to attend Five Towns College, a music and performing arts school. Living in New York exposed the pair to an entirely different music scene, involving large doses of R&B and hip-hop, and Levine would later say that living in New York had a large impact on his musical point-of-view.