If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Adam Levine‘s fellow mentors on The Voice should consider his monologue on Jan. 26’s Saturday Night Live one huge compliment.
The Maroon 5 frontman kicked off the show by announcing his desire to break into acting because “like all successful singers, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would overreach and try acting. …I hope you all don’t judge me too harshly.”
At the word “judge,” a trio of chairs swiveled around to reveal three potential “mentors” vying for the chance to help Levine, 33, break into acting — Andy Samberg, Cameron Diaz and Jerry Seinfeld.
“Fat chance, Levine,” a dismissive Samberg scoffed, proceeding to name-drop Justin Timberlake and reason with Levine about why the singer should choose him as his mentor: “We’ve both slept with between 2 and 500 women, and we both have angelic singing voices.”
Second judge Diaz channeled her inner Christina Aguilera with a tiny top hat balanced on her head and a white blazer to boot.
“Oh yeah, I’m the Aguilera of the group, I’m high energy and I never put my hands down,” she whooped as she raised the roof in her seat. The actress, 40, happily dished out some sage comedy advice to the “Payphone” singer.
“If you want to succeed in comedy, you have to check your pride at the door, you have to be willing to fall down, you have to be willing to shake your butt, you have to be willing to take a handful of Ben Stiller‘s spooge and put it in your hair and spike it like a mohawk,” she said, referring to her famous scene in There’s Something About Mary.
“Oh also, you should take off your shirt,” she added offhandedly.
The third judge of the monologue, veteran stand-up comedian Seinfeld, advised Levine against stripping down and instead appealed to his Jewish background.
“I should be your coach. I get you — appealing, not as Jewish as your name,” Seinfeld began. “Be smart, be clever, be one step ahead of the audience. That’s where you use your Jewishness.”
In the end, Levine didn’t opt for any of the three judges, but did abide by Diaz’s advice and stood on the stage shirtless as the audience cheered.