A good coaching partnership is built on a strong friendship — just ask Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden and Adam Levine.
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The Maroon 5 singer tapped Madden to serve as an advisor for his team during The Voice season 29 battle rounds, marking the Good Charlotte rocker’s first appearance on the flagship U.S. version of the hit reality competition show. He previously appeared as co-coach alongside his twin brother Joel Madden on The Voice Australia (2015-16), as well as the sole season of The Voice Kids Australia (2014).
On the March 16 episode of The Voice, Madden advised three thrilling Team Adam battles that highlighted this season’s impressive level of competition. Bay Simpson took down Hunter Jordan — who previously earned a 3-Chair-Turn — with a winning rendition of Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem,” Jaali Boyd knocked out Bijou Belle with an ace version of The Weeknd’s “Die For You” and Alexia Jayy edged out Moses G. with a swoon-worthy take on The Commodores’ “Nightshift.” Notably, fellow coach John Legend couldn’t resist the caliber of Team Adam’s talent, so he stole Moses G., keeping him in the competition.
Though the battles were intense, all three showdowns were a testament to the strength of the dynamic Levine and Madden have cultivated as coach and advisor. Blending their joint pop-rock sensibilities, Levine focused on the technical aspects of vocal performance, while Maddem emphasized the importance of connecting emotionally with both the song and the audience. With a coach-advisor partnership that naturally blossomed out of a 20-year friendship, Madden has certainly helped Team Adam remain the frontrunners of season 29.
“We carpooled together, we’re old friends! We’ve known each other for probably 21-22 years. Adam’s the greatest, especially if you get to know him personally,” Madden gushes to Billboard. “I wish this was a [full] stint. I would do that any day of the week. It’s the easiest gig in the world to hang with Adam and talk music, so this was a very easy yes for me. I was really appreciative of Adam bringing me on the show and getting to spend the day hanging. That’s my boy.”
Last summer, Good Charlotte dropped its eighth studio album, Motel Du Cap, which marked the band’s first LP without drummer Dean Butterworth following his departure in early 2025. The 13-song set, which boasts collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, Petti Hendrix, Luke Borchelt and Zeph, reached No. 43 on Top Album Sales. This summer, the Maryland-bred band will embark on a 16-city joint tour with Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The trek will kick off July 25 in Ridgedale, Mo., and visit major cities like Chicago, New York and Dallas before wrapping with a BMO Stadium show in Los Angeles on Aug. 30.
Below, Benji Madden speaks with Billboard about 20 years of friendship with Adam Levine, advising on season 29 of The Voice and what fans can expect from Good Charlotte’s upcoming tour with Avenged Sevenfold.
Do you remember the very first time you met Adam?
I can’t remember if we were in L.A., but we were both 21 and at a show. We watched each other play — it might have been a festival — and literally have been friends since that day. It was like the new kids meeting at school. We were always really supportive of one another. You don’t have too many people that you can say you’ve been friends with for decades, so it’s really nice, especially when they stay consistent. And Adam’s never changed. Anybody who knows him knows he’s the same dude from day one.
How does your friendship with Adam inform your coach-advisor dynamic for the contestants?
We’re always giving each other advice. When we met, we were both still on tour in vans and trailers. When you grow up through the years and stay friends with someone through the different phases of life, like being married and having families, you need that fellowship. The music industry can be a cold place, but there’s also a beautiful side. I think that those friendships are the most amazing side of it. We talk about everything, from our careers to being dads, so I think that makes it easier for us to advise artists who will listen.
When people receive you, you can be more genuine and tell them what you know. When Adam’s coaching on The Voice, those artists are there to get everything they can get out of that experience and being with him. They’re totally excited and open, and it’s a really fun environment. Sometimes you go into these scenarios and it’s not as comfortable, because you’re getting to know all the different people. So, when you roll in there with your old friend — somebody that you see every day in real life — it’s awesome. I had a blast! And it’s fun listening to people who can really sing; the show definitely keeps a high tier of ability and talent.
This season is being dubbed the “Battle of Champions.” Do you feel like the stakes are higher this time around?
Definitely. This is a big platform to be on. A lot of these people have been working and have gone through the wringer in different talent pools and searches. When you get an opportunity like this platform, you elevate when you get around other great talent. That’s the beauty of getting to hang out with guys like Adam. He’s got a classic voice for our time, it will be remembered. When you go to a [Maroon 5] show, there’s hit after hit after hit, and it’s tied together by Adam’s voice. It’s woven into the fabric of modern music.
We’re on season 29 now, so obviously, they’re trying to find new ways to up the ante and make it stand out. It doesn’t lead to something for everybody, but it’s your opportunity to take and make with it what you will. The stakes are high for these folks, and Adam being back is pretty cool, too.
What advice do you think vocalists need to hear the most these days?
My advice is going to be different than a vocalist vocalist because I’m more of a singer-songwriter. My advice is always going to be: tap into your feelings regardless of the mechanics and technical execution. There’s a balance. Do the work and practice, but when you’re performing, try to tap into your soul and the soul of the song. Connect it to you and your story — that’s what people really feel. You gotta marry that with ability, practice and skill.
And that’s something that Adam does. He’s a technically great singer, but he’s also telling stories and he’s a songwriter. If anyone has a takeaway from Team Adam, it’s to be a storyteller.
You and your brother served as co-coaches for The Voice Australia and The Voice Kids Australia. How did those experiences prepare you for advising this season?
It was great! Having shot those seasons, we know the environment. They’re shooting this entire competition from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed — there is a flow to it. That allowed me to slide right into the flow of the show and have fun with it because I missed doing The Voice, getting to work with all these unknowns, and all this talent. And we learned a lot doing so.
What have been your favorite fan responses to Motel Du Cap?
You never know what to expect, and I don’t think we really had any expectations. We genuinely got to make a record just for the fun of it, and that’s a blessing to be in that place in our career. But the response has been incredible, man. We just did our biggest tour ever in Australia, and we’re doing some of the biggest shows of our career with three or four new songs in the set — and they’re going off. That’s also kind of a rarity. “Bodies,” “Stepper” and “Mean” all get really strong responses. Now the momentum is pulling us into a few more shows than we thought.
We just announced a U.S. summer tour that we’re co-headlining with Avenged Sevenfold. God bless those guys. We’ve been friends for 25 years, and we’ve always wanted to tour together. We don’t take it for granted. Obviously, we can’t do it exactly the way we used to now that we have families and businesses, but we’re really enjoying it when we can.
What can fans expect from this tour?
We’re gonna bring something special. Obviously, we have songs and features together, so I’m talking to Matt Shadows [Avenged Sevenfold lead vocalist] about all that. There will be a lot of production, I’ll tell you that. A lot of thought is going into the creative.
You guys also have a BMO Stadium show on this trek. What excites you most about a venue of that size?
L.A. is a special market for us and Avenged, so we wanted to do something different, which is why we announced it last. We thought this would be a really cool venue to put on a big, old rock show. We’ve got some special guests and lots of cool stuff for that show. It’s sort of like a homecoming show.
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