Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera Honor Mick in ‘Moves Like Jagger’ Video

The ‘Moves Like Jagger’ video that Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera have been teasing for weeks with photo stills and teaser footage is finally here, and it’s a total homage to the Rolling Stones frontman.

The clip was directed by Jonas Akerlund, known for creating unusual videos like Madonna‘s ‘Ray of Light’ and the Lady Gaga and Beyonce duet ‘Telephone.’ It opens in black and white with shots of hopefuls preparing for auditions, followed by archival footage of Mick Jagger himself. When asked how long he sees himself playing rock music, Jagger says, “I don’t know… I never thought I’d be doing it for two years.”
As the song begins, footage of a shirtless Adam Levine are interspersed with shots of Jagger dancing and wannabe Mick Jaggers doing their best impersonations of the Stones’ singer in front of a giant British flag. Levine and his bandmates perform in front of an M5 banner.
This continues through the second chorus, when Aguilera appears, wearing the floppy hat and white dress we’ve seen in the photo stills. Many of her shots are close-ups, accentuated with a grainy film effect to make the footage look older.
As the music reaches its peak, the British flag is replaced by the Stars and Stripes, and confetti flies as the transcontinental party comes to an end. Cut to another clip of Jagger, who comments, “I think we’re pretty well set up for at least another year,” which now seems like a hilarious statement since he’s still going strong nearly 50 years later.