Gwen Stefani Feels Guilty For Not Quitting Music

Gwen Stefani is reuniting with No Doubt for the first time in nearly ten years this upcoming weekend for Coachella. In a new interview with Nylon on Tuesday (April 9), Stefani reflects on her decades-long music career and how she is still making music, even while living the simple life with her hubby, Blake Shelton.

The 54-year-old singer-songwriter has released two albums in the last ten years: 2016’s This Is What the Truth Feels Like and her 2017 holiday album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas. During this time, the "Spiderwebs" singer admits she recorded and shelved albums worth of material, wondering where she belongs in the world of pop music. Growing up Catholic and being more public about her faith in recent years, Stefani gives the songwriting credit to God.

Stefani tells the publication that she feels the most creative when she's collaborating with someone. When it comes to making new music, Gwen Stefani feels guilty about it. The mother of three believes she has to justify why she's making music or that she's doing it in the first place. She hears, "You should just get on with your life," in her head or in real life by critics. The award-winning musician actually feels "greedy" and unsure bout it.

Sounding unsure of herself, she still is able to tell Nylon that she just knows "that I was chosen. And it took me a long time to say that, and it still makes me cringe a little bit because it sounds conceited." However, when it comes to genre, Stefani is sure she doesn't land in the pop category anymore. She doesn't even care what genre she will be classified as with her new music, calling the music industry "the Wild West" right now and "crazy s--- happens."

Beyond Coachella, there are no concrete plans for touring or new music, although Stefani is “open to anything.” The two weekends are going to be a "really nice bow to tie" on the band's relationship. Confidently, Stefani knows when she and the rest of No Doubt hits that stage, it will be like no time has passed. She sweetly remarks, "It’s going to feel like riding a bike again. We’re going to be laughing, and we’re going to look at each other and go, ‘Oh my gosh — there you are.’"

No Doubt is reuniting for the first time after nearly ten years, headlining Coachella this April. The ska-rock-pop band consisting of Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young last performed at 2015's Rock in Rio. No Doubt was first formed in 1986, with Stefani's brother Eric Stefani as a former founding member. He was the band's keyboardist and officially left the band in 1994. With the rise in popularity of grunge music at the time, the band didn’t see mainstream success until their third album, 1995's Tragic Kingdom, which featured hits like “Don’t Speak,” “Just a Girl,” and “Spiderwebs.” The band underwent a few hiatuses, as most bands do. The most recent hiatus, Stefani told Rolling Stone at the time, was due to her and bassist and co-writer (and her ex-boyfriend) Kanal growing apart creatively.

Stefani can't stomach some of No Doubt's music -- literally. In a recent interview, she admits she avoids listening to certain songs because of the painful memories they hold, explaining that some of the songs make her feel sick. "I can’t listen to a lot of the songs because they speak so clearly to me." She recalls the songs that have to do with regrets and mistakes she's previously made. She specifically lists "Ex-Girlfriend" as a song that, even upon speaking the track's title, she almost throws up in her mouth.

Stefani revealed earlier this month that even though the group hasn't started rehearsing yet, two months out, she knows she has to relearn the lyrics to their older songs. While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, she guessed having to relearn eight to nine songs. For fans attending Coachella, Stefani "accidentally" revealed she is performing one of the first songs she ever wrote, 1995's "Different People." The band has six studio albums, and we ranked our favorite seven songs below.

This 2001 track from the band's fifth album, Rock Steady, is one of our favorite throwback songs. The album was recorded in Jamaica and is heavily influenced by Jamaican dancehall music. Lyrically and visually in the music video, "Hey Baby" describes the craziness that comes with touring, partying, and the groupies. Stefani sings about how she watches all of this unfold in the promiscuous track. And, of course, Adrian Young gets naked.

Stefani playing the role of a mad woman in the music video is something that we love to see as one of the band's more creative music videos that tell a story. Her 1930's-inspired outfits are also very iconic in the 2003 video. The song is actually a cover of UK band Talk Talk’s 1984 hit of the same name. It appears on their greatest hits compilation album, The Singles 1992–2003. Though it isn't the band's original song, Stefani's rendition and the accompanying music video make "It's My Life" one of their best songs. It was the last song they released before going on a lengthy hiatus.

From Rock Steady, this is a track that is different from the upbeat ska/rock jams the band is known for. Still incorporating reggae influence, the song is at a much slower pace as Stefani's vocals take center stage. The song was written in just ten minutes, written Stefani about her then-boyfriend Gavin Rossdale. She previously revealed in a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone that she wrote in a journal that despite "all the s--- we’ve been through, you’re a really good person. I really think I might like you."

The ska-punk song debuted in 1995, detailing Stefani’s response to potential suitors. The music video features the band performing the song at a wedding reception. As Stefani goes to catch the bouquet, she pricks her finger on a thorn in the process. The video then cuts to a black-and-white sequence where wireline telephones knock down the large windows in the room and begin wrapping around No Doubt and the wedding attendees, trapping them all. After the band members eventually free themselves, they finish their performance for the newlyweds. The song gives a feeling of sultriness and being cool, although the lyrics describe how Stefani is stuck in the webs a suitor is spinning.

“Just a Girl” was No Doubt’s lead single from their successful third studio album. Lyrically, the track is about Stefani’s perspective of life as a woman and her struggles with having strict parents. It was the first song she wrote without the assistance of her brother Eric, who played the keyboards and left the band after the album was recorded. This song is as impactful as an anthem for women as Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" The intro is so nostalgic for us, and we can never skip it when it comes on shuffle and rock out every time. Our favorite lines in the song is: "The moment that I step outside, so many reasons for me to run and hide. I can't do the little things I hold so dear, 'cause it's all those little things that I fear."

The hook on “Hella Good” features a bassline that we think is just, well,  hella good. As the funky 2001 song progresses, Gwen’s voice and energy skyrocket the track when she belts out: “You got me feelin’ hella good, so let’s just keep on dancin’.” The song is so groovy, you can't not dance to it, as it is clearly inspired by songs like 1977's "Brick House" and 1983's "Billie Jean." Add in Stefani's panting, the song is seductive and playful throughout. The music video is a fun one, with No Doubt jet skiing and squatting in an abandoned ship in black-and-white.

No Doubt did their thing on their third studio album with this fantastic breakup track. Her brother Eric initially wrote it as a love song, but after several rewrites, Gwen changed it after she and bandmate and ex-boyfriend Tony Kanal ended their seven-year relationship. The song was a massive hit on the band's 1995 album, Tragic Kingdom. The song is clearly set apart from the rest, with Gwen's vocals shining through in the beginning half of the song, accompanied by a lone guitar. Reflecting on the song 25 years after its debut, Stefani told Variety the record was so "honest and real and pure," not done for any other reason than "just to say it for your own heart."