Adam Levine: ‘I’m not arrogant. I’m cocky. It’s different.’

Adam Levine says to know him is to love him. Even though he recognizes that there have been a number of reasons not to.

“I’m not the easiest person to love right off the bat, you know,” he tells GQ in its July issue. “If I knew everyone in the world, they would love me. Every single last ... one of them.”

That confidence in itself may be part of the reason Levine has earned a reputation as the poster boy for douchebaggery. Still, he says, he has determined the three key traits of the d-bag syndrome -- arrogance, insecurity and a lack of self-awareness -- and swears that’s not him.

“I’m not arrogant,” says the singer. “I’m cocky. It’s different. Cocky is playful.”

Plus, “The Voice” coach claims that even though he’d prefer to be liked, he’s secure enough to go on without universal adoration. And why not: He gets to live the life of Adam Levine, with the model fiancee, the Ferrari, the ripped body, the mass-market musical fame -- OK, maybe the Kmart clothing collection is a little random, but still.

“Every day,” Levine declares, dare we say with self-awareness, “every single day, at some point, I think to myself, this is so great. It’s so much fun.”

Wait, is this the part where we’re supposed to hate the game and not the player, or the player and not the game? It’s all so confusing.

Just one thing that bugs him: It would be nice if people would back off about the “model thing,” he says, defending his series of Victoria’s Secret model girlfriends, which culminated last July in a proposal to the most recent, 25-year-old Behati Prinsloo.

“Preference should never be looked down upon,” Levine says. “Unless it’s based on something really [bad]. I’m not saying I have a preference, but, like, I want to date someone .... Listen, there are a lot of women in this country, in many countries, who date men for their money. OK? That’s despicable. Right? That’s not what we’re talking about here. Whatever does it for you, man.”

Incidentally, Levine and Prinsloo have set their destination wedding for July 19 in Los Cabos, Mexico, according to E! News. A bachelor party with 55 guests was held in Vegas in June.

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