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By KELLI KENNEDY

MIAMI (AP) ā€” A noticeably relaxed Adam Levine took the stage with Maroon 5 for a pre-Super Bowl event in Miami on Saturday, telling the crowd he was relieved the pressures of the halftime show were behind the band.

ā€œIā€™m just happy we can kind of kick back and hang out down the street and have fun, but still be somewhat away from the madness,ā€ said Levine, whose band in Atlanta.

The frontman asked the crowd but shrugged off answering his own question, saying he didnā€™t have a preference between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Drummer Matt Flynn, however, wore the jersey of San Francisco’s George Kittle.

ā€œNow that (expletive) is over. Now weā€™re loose and we can have a good time,ā€ Levine said.

He clearly relished the no-pressure vibe, saying, ā€œIt’s chill,ā€ when he forgot a cue to grab his guitar during ā€œSugar,ā€ even after admitting his mistake.

Dan + Shay, fresh off for ā€œSpeechless,ā€ opened the show. Demi Lovato surprised the crowd, joining on the ballad.

Maroon 5 rocked through a series of hits during a high-energy, 90-minute set, including ā€œPayphone,ā€ ā€œThis Love,ā€ ā€œMoves Like Jaggerā€ and ā€œAnimal,ā€ which he played with a pink Hello Kitty guitar.

At the start of the show at the Miami Heat’s home arena, Levine carried out Kobe Bryantā€™s Los Angeles Lakers jersey. He later opened the encore set with an emotional rendition of ā€œMemories,ā€ which he dedicated to Bryant, who was among Jan. 26.

This year’s pre-Super Bowl events have been suffused with grief and tributes in the aftermath of the crash, including during the Jan. 27 and former teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s Friday.

ā€œI donā€™t know if Iā€™ll make it through this one with my emotions intact. If you could sing with us it would make a huge,ā€ Levine said, before stopping as the crowd erupted into chants of ā€œKobe.ā€

Levine clutched his microphone and hung his head low, saying one of his goals this year was to ā€œlove more and live moreā€ and encouraging the audience to do the same.

The rocker wore a Guns N’ Roses muscle tank for most of the show, which was part of the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest. Gun N’ Roses headlined a performance also at the American Airlines Arena the night before. The series opened Thursday, during which including Rick Ross, 2 Chain and Migos. Meek Mill and DaBaby opened that show.