Gwen Stefani

Gwendolyn Renée Stefani (born October 3 1969) is an American singer and the frontwoman of the pop/rock band No Doubt who launched a successful solo career in late 2004.

Solo career

Stefani duets with Prince on the song "So Far, So Pleased" from his 1999 album Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic. The same Prince-produced album features rap by Eve of Ruff Ryders, who later collaborated with her. Stefani's solo efforts found early success in a pair of popular 2001 duets, the "South Side" remix with electronic artist Moby and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with rapper Eve. In fact, Stefani became the first artist in history to win both Best Male Video and Best Female Video awards at the MTV VMAs, for "South Side" (credited as "Moby featuring Gwen Stefani") and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (credited as "Eve featuring Gwen Stefani") respectively, both in 2001.

Related Topics:
Prince - Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic - Eve - Ruff Ryders - 2001 - South Side - Remix - Electronic - Moby - Let Me Blow Ya Mind - Rapper - MTV - VMA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first solo single Stefani released was "What You Waiting For?" It debuted at number one on the Australian singles chart and at number four on the UK chart, and peaked at number forty-seven on the U.S. chart, making it a relative American flop for Stefani. In Canada, it managed to climb to number eleven, but almost instantly dropped out of the top forty. The song was also only seldom played on Canadian radio. Even though it did not perform all that well on the charts, it was a dance hit, climbing to number one on the U.S. dance club play charts. However, the song received little audience on dance radio, and ultimately did not peak in the top forty.

Related Topics:
What You Waiting For? - Australia - UK - Canada - Radio

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stefani's debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., was released in the United States on November 23, 2004. It managed to sell more copies in its first week than any No Doubt album (350,000), debuting at number seven on the Billboard 200, impressive for a debut solo artist. Her album was certified platinum (1,000,000 copies sold) after only four weeks of sales. Stefani collaborated with songwriter Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes) on the album.

Related Topics:
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. - November 23 - 2004 - Billboard 200 - Linda Perry - 4 Non Blondes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The second single, "Rich Girl," another duet with Eve, was produced by Dr. Dre. It is partly a cover of the song "If I Was A Rich Man" written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, from the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. It shot its way into the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven, and number three on the Pop 100. It was also featured on a Pepsi commercial, starting on Super Bowl Sunday, 2005. The music video lived up to its name, featuring Stefani and Eve dancing on a pirate ship, where young Asian girls determined the outcome of their adventure.

Related Topics:
Rich Girl - Dr. Dre - Jerry Bock - Sheldon Harnick - Fiddler on the Roof - Billboard Hot 100 - Pop 100 - Pepsi - Super Bowl - Music video - Asia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Love. Angel. Music. Baby.s third single, "Hollaback Girl", produced and co-written by the Neptunes, was released in April of 2005 and became one of the fastest rising songs of the year. In only its sixth week, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making Stefani the first white, non-urban, and non-American Idol artist to reach the top spot since Nickelback in 2001/2002 with their hit, "How You Remind Me". The song held this position for one month and subsequently remained in the top ten for an additional two months. In Australia, the song debuted at number one, where it hailed for one week, selling over 5,000 copies.

Related Topics:
Hollaback Girl - The Neptunes - April - 2005 - Urban - American Idol - Nickelback

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When the song was released in the U.K., it debuted at number eight. The following week, it duplicated the same position, confusing many. Due to its large audience in North America, critics assumed that it was a sure-fire number one. Then, in its third week, it fell to number eleven, unable to climb to a higher peak. Despite not being as successful as predicted, it did manage to sell in excess of 50,000 copies. "Hollaback Girl" also helped Love. Angel. Music. Baby. climb to a new peak of four in the U.K., now going on to achieve a gold certification.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In May 2005, while "Hollaback Girl" was enjoying its success, speculation about the next single from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. grew intensely. At first, it was rumoured that "Bubble Pop Electric", an urban-influenced track about a classic 1980s date was going to be the next single. At the end of the month, "Cool", a happy-go-lucky pop song about a disastrous relationship that didn't result so horribly, was rumoured to be the next single. As no other song on the album was being thrown into the mix, it was evident that it was going to be one of the two songs. Finally, on June 16 2005, "Cool" debuted on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart at number forty-four, putting a rest to the ongoing rumours. The single went on to reach number thirteen in the U.S., number two in Canada, and number eleven in the United Kingdom.

Related Topics:
1980s - Cool - June 16 - 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Cool" premiered on TRL on June 30 2005. The video, filmed in Lake Como, Italy, sees Gwen paying homage to her Italian heritage as well as 1950s bombshells Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Sophia Loren, and Brigitte Bardot.

Related Topics:
TRL - June 30 - 2005 - Lake Como - Italy - Marilyn Monroe - Jayne Mansfield - Sophia Loren - Brigitte Bardot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Related Topics:
Bubble Pop Electric - Serious

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was confirmed on Saturday of September 24, 2005 by MTV and Stefani herself that "Luxurious" will be the fifth single after "Cool". There were other of rumours going around of what the fifth single would be "Bubble Pop Electric" or "Serious".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gwen has also confirmed that a new solo album will be out by Winter 2005, and MTV has revealed that one of the songs she recorded for the new album (though it might not make the final cut) is called "Fluorescent Lights".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harajuku

The release of her solo album has also brought attention to Stefani's entourage of four Harajuku girls. Named Love, Angel, Music, and Baby by Stefani, the Harajuku girls are named for the area around the Harajuku Station of Tokyo, Japan, known as a popular shopping destination and fashion center for teenagers. Following the style of their namesake area, Stefani's Harajuku girls are usually flamboyantly dressed (sometimes in a somewhat "Gothic Lolita" style). They have been featured in her music videos and press coverage and on the album cover for Love. Angel. Music. Baby., and have a song dedicated to them on the album.

Related Topics:
Harajuku - Girl - Harajuku Station - Tokyo - Japan - Gothic Lolita

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, Stefani's adoption of this component of Japanese culture drew criticism from Mihi Ahn at Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2005/04/09/geisha/

Related Topics:
Japanese - Culture - Mihi Ahn - Salon.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Certification

• "What You Waiting For?" is certified double platnium.
• "Rich Girl" is certified double platinum.
• "Hollaback Girl" is certified platinum.
• "Cool" is certified gold.
• Love. Angel. Music. Baby. is certified 6x platinum worldwide.