-Gwen, it is so good to see you. -Whoo!
Thank you so much for coming back to the show.
You were with me when I really, really needed you,
when we first were doing the shows from the home shows
and we were on Zoom.
And do you remember shaving --
You shaved my initials into Blake Shelton's head.
-One of my favorite moments of my life was actually doing that.
Two of my favorite human beings.
I get to create art that was -- It wasn't very lasting, though.
It did grow out. -Yeah, I figured.
-But that was amazing. -Yeah, I figured.
-I never thought that I would be with someone that a mullet ever.
-I think he pulled it off. He looked good.
-Yeah. He looked good.
I was sad when he wanted to hack it off.
I was really upset about it.
-I don't know how this is true, but I was researching
some things before this interview
and I saw that it's the 25th anniversary of
"Tragic Kingdom," of No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom."
25 -- is that -- -It's still crazy.
-How is that possible? -It's true. I don't know.
And I think -- Last week, I started
posting and looking at all these people posting,
and it was really emotional,
like, in a crazy way I wasn't expecting,
'cause I don't really do --
Like, I don't really care about anniversaries,
but you start to actually think about it,
especially this year, with everything being so crazy
and just imagining all the people
that have come up to me saying, you know,
"That was my favorite record."
And it's such a weird record.
Like, those songs -- like, they don't fit in anywhere
in this world, but, yet, so many people connected to them, and --
-Oh, it was the biggest thing in the world.
I mean, I was out in L.A. when it was released
and I was doing stand-up.
And, you know -- And, like, you spend
a lot of time driving in L.A.
And you were on the radio all the time.
It was so -- I have nothing but great memories from that album.
But, I mean, when you made the album cover, did you think,
"This album is going to be big" or "It's going to be a hit"
or "We're going to be famous"?
-No. We were just -- I mean, we were trying to
make that record for so long.
We were in our band for nine years
before that record came out.
So we never -- Like, we put a fake record out
before that, 'cause the record company wouldn't
put our record out, so we were like,
"Oh, we're just going to put this record out."
And we, like -- I did, like, the collage for it.
I went to Kinko's and I Xeroxed all these pictures of us,
and we put this record out called
"The Beacon Street Collection."
Just kind of like, "Well, if you're not going to
put one out, we'll put this really bad one."
No. The record we put out was, like, kind of all the songs
that didn't make it, so, obviously, not the great songs.
-I love that you went to Kinko's and made it little --
That's so cool.
And were they, like, CDs you handed out
at concerts or sold or...
-I think we sold them out of our van or whatever.
We were just trying to make it, you know?
We weren't even trying to make it.
We just wanted the fans that came to see us
to have our music on a record, because at that point,
"Just a Girl" -- we were playing that live
for over a year before it ever came out.
Like, we were playing it.
-It was such a different sound
and something I just had not heard.
Like, your voice was so different,
and, like, I go like, "Oh, what is this?"
Like, it's like ska, but, like, who is this singer,
and what's going on?
And "Just a Girl," and you go like --
I loved -- And cranking it so loud.
It was just, like, I mean, guys loved it.
Everyone -- It's an anthem now. -It's still crazy.
-Does it freak you out?
-I actually named my Vegas residency --
I did that for about two years, which was amazing,
and I named it "The Just a Girl Show"
basically because it felt, like, so right,
and the show was very much reflective of, like,
kind of the moments in time
of all the different versions of me.
And -- But I always thought that that song
would kind of be outdated in some way
or I'd out grow it 'cause I'd be, like, a woman or something,
and it still is so relevant.
It's insane. -Yeah.
-So proud of that.
-Thank you for doing our country bit earlier,
which is kind of fun, because, speaking of country,
your song with Blake Shelton, "Nobody But You,"
is up for a CMT Music Award.
You're basically -- -That's so crazy.
-How does that -- That's got to feel amazing, right?
-It's really weird.
It's just -- I've definitely bounced, you know,
in different genres through my career,
and it was just kind of easy.
Like, it was just natural.
And this was one I never would ever imagine would happen.
Although, my parents grew up --
Like, I grew up on, like, bluegrass music and, like, folk.
So it's kind of similar in a way.
But, like, the first concert I ever went to was
an Emmylou Harris concert when I was, like,
in Girl Scouts or whatever.
So it's just crazy to think that now I'm on
two records, actually, country records,
and on the radio, like, country radio?
That's hard for me to believe.
And -- But so honored, and I love the song so much.
And I've learned so much about country music.
-Country fans don't really let everyone into their world.
You can't be a phony, 'cause they'll sniff you out
and they'll be like --
-Yeah, that is true.
And that's one thing about Blake Shelton.
He is not a phony.
That guy is like Blake no matter where you are.
Like, I remember when I first met him
and I took him to some, like, Hollywood party.
And I was like -- I didn't know what he was going to be like.
You know what I'm saying? And he was just him.
Again, I bring him to my parents' house, he's him.
Like, he doesn't care that it's my dad.
Like, he's still Blake.
Like, he's so authentic, and that's what I love about him.
-Well, so are you.
I mean, did you get to work on any new music of your own?
-I have been.
I never was, like, expecting that I would,
but I wrote one song, and it was like a wildfire.
Like, they just -- I think I have like over
24 songs or something like that.
I don't even know how, 'cause, sometimes, like,
you press that button, and nothing happens.
Like, the elevator is stuck.
And this time was like -- It was just, like, coming through,
and I was like, "This is the greatest thing."
And it just feels so happy
and it's just so fun to make new music,
'cause there is really nothing else
that makes me feel that way.
And this period, like, before it comes out, is my favorite,
like, 'cause it's yours, and you don't --
Like, the anticipation, like, the excitement --
it's so big.
-Yeah, no one else gets to have any input on it yet.
Like, the world hasn't seen it yet.
You're like, "This is so exciting.
Like, no can --" Yeah, it's so ex-- That is a good --
-It's like, I make up all these, like,
huge dreams and, like, ideas that people
are going to be so excited when they hear it, like I am.
And it's like a fantasy that I get to live in
before it comes out.
And once the records come out, like,
you kind of never, like, listen to them again, you know?
And during the demo phase,
you're, like, listening repeatedly and, like --
It's like the lyrics are like -- It's like therapy.
It's like they're healing you, you know?
-I can't wait for that to come out.
Can you stick around?
I just want to talk about "The Voice" when we come back.
Is that alright? -Please.
-More with Gwen Stefani when we come back, everybody!