Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani |
|---|
Gwen Stefani (born October 3 1969) is an American pop, rock and dance singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and occasional actress. Stefani made her debut in 1992 as the frontwoman of the pop–rock band No Doubt. The release of the group's second album Tragic Kingdom (1995) propelled them to stardom and it sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide. It spawned the singles "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and the airplay number-one "Don't Speak". The band's popularity went into decline with Return of Saturn (2000), but Rock Steady (2001) introduced reggae production into their music, which was generally well-received.
Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album contains pop and dance tracks and influence from hip hop and R&B. Its third single "Hollaback Girl" became the first U.S. digital download to exceed sales of one million and "Cool" was one of 2005's most popular radio singles. The Sweet Escape, Stefani's second solo album, will be released on December 5 2006 in North America. The album's first single is "Wind It Up".
In the media Stefani is known as a fashion trendsetter[1] and she debuted her clothing line L.A.M.B. in 2003.[2] It includes many accessories as well as jackets and jeans. Currently, Stefani is producing new material set for an early 2007 release.[3]
Early life
Gwen Stefani was born in Fullerton, California, and grew up in nearby Anaheim. Her father, Dennis Stefani, is Italian American, and her mother Patti Flynn is of Irish and Scottish descent. She has a sister, Jill, and two brothers, Eric and Todd. Stefani attended Loara High School (class of 1987), where she was on the swim team and marching band, and California State University, Fullerton. Her first job was scrubbing floors at a Dairy Queen, and she once worked at the makeup counter of a department store. Her brother Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt, but left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons. Other members of the group include Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Stefani had an eight-year relationship with Kanal, which was kept secret from the rest of the band for a while. Kanal ended the relationship because he said that he needed "space".[4]
Career
1986–present: No Doubt
No Doubt's second album Tragic Kingdom (1995), which followed the self-titled No Doubt (1992) and The Beacon Street Collection (1995), took more than three years to make. During this time, the band almost disbanded because of the romantic relationship between Stefani and Kanal. Their break-up inspired Stefani lyrically and some of the album's songs, including "Spiderwebs" and "Happy Now?", chronicled their relationship and her happiness. Five singles were released from Tragic Kingdom and "Don't Speak" led 1996's year-end airplay chart. It sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide[5] and received several Grammy Award nominations.
Stefani met then-Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale in 1995 at a No Doubt concert, and they became involved in a long distance relationship. After the success of Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt released the less popular Return of Saturn (2000) and the critically-mixed Rock Steady (2001), which generated career-highest chart positions in the United States. The singles "Hey Baby" and "Underneath It All" received Grammy Awards and a greatest hits collection, The Singles 1992-2003 (2003), was released to moderate sales. It is rumored that the band has returned to the studio to work on their sixth studio album, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Outside No Doubt, Stefani has collaborated on the singles "South Side" and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Moby and Eve respectively. In 2002 Eve and Stefani won a "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind".
2004–2006: Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end
Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. was released in November 2004 across the world. The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart at number seven, selling more than 310,000 copies in its first week. In early 2005 it peaked at number five in the U.S., number three in Canada and number one in Australia. It had major success in Mexico, where it became the highest-selling English album for more than a month and peaked at number two for several weeks.
Stefani collaborated with singer-songwriter Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes on the album, along with The Neptunes, OutKast's André 3000, and Dallas Austin among others. The first single released from the album was "What You Waiting For?", which was a top twenty success across Asia, Australia and Europe, but was less successful in North America.
"Rich Girl" was released as the album's second single; a duet with rapper Eve, and produced by Dr. Dre, it is an adaptation of a 1990s pop song by British musicians Louchie Lou and Michie, which itself is a cover of "If I Were a Rich Man", from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. "Rich Girl" proved successful on several formats, and reached the UK and U.S. top ten. Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'s third single "Hollaback Girl" became Stefani's first U.S. and second Australian number-one single; it was less successful elsewhere. The song was the first U.S. digital download to sell more than one million copies legally, and its brass-driven composition remained popular throughout 2005. Its lyrical content features the word "shit" thirty-seven times.
The fourth single "Cool" was released shortly following the popularity of its predecessor, but failed to match its chart success, reaching the U.S. and the UK top twenty. However, "Cool" was Stefani's first Canadian number-one single. The song's music video, filmed in Lake Como, Italy, depicts Stefani's former relationship with No Doubt bass guitarist Tony Kanal. The song's music video shows Stefani paying homage to her Italian heritage as well as the 1950s bombshells. "Luxurious" was released as the album's fifth single, but did not perform as well as its predecessors. "Crash" was released as the album's sixth single in early 2006 in lieu of the production of Love. Angel. Music. Baby. sequel, which Stefani postponed because of her pregnancy.
Stefani received five Grammy Award nominations on December 8 2005. She was nominated in five categories: "Album of the Year", "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", "Best Pop Vocal Album", "Record of the Year" and "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration".
Harajuku Girls
The release of Stefani's first solo album brought attention to her 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 centre 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. However, Stefani's adoption of this component of Japanese culture drew criticism from Mihi Ahn at Salon.com, and others who feel that Stefani has stripped Japanese street fashion of its authenticity and created yet another example of the 'submissive Asian female' stereotype. Wrote Ahn,
Stefani has taken the idea of Japanese street fashion and turned these women into modern-day geisha, contractually obligated to speak only Japanese in public, even though it's rumored they're just plain old Americans and their English is just fine... she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women.[6]
According to the Jan/Feb 2006 edition of Blender magazine, stand-up comic Margaret Cho has labeled the Harajuku Girls as a "minstrel show" that reinforces ethnic stereotypes of Asian women.
Despite some negative criticism Stefani received due to the appearences of the Harajuku Girls, they have again returned to the limelight with the help of her second solo album. In the album's first video, they can be seen dancing and dressed in identical blonde wigs (to symbolize the von Trapp children from The Sound of Music. According to Stefani's choreographer, Sho-Tyme, the Harajuku Girls will be appearing in her other works and her 2007 world tour as well.
2006–present: The Sweet Escape
Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006) is scheduled for release on December 4 outside North America and December 5 in Canada, Mexico and the United States. She is again seen working with Pharrell and Tony Kanal, and Akon is featured on one of the tracks. The album includes twelve songs.
In addition to the new album, a DVD release of her recent tour, entitled "Harajuku Lovers Live", will be released along with The Sweet Escape. The DVD will be available in two versions: explicit and edited and will include the unreleased video for "Serious".
Along with the announcement of her upcoming album and DVD release in late 2006, Stefani announced on her website recently that she will be embarking on an international tour starting in April 2007. This tour will visit North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tour dates have not yet been confirmed.
Non-musical projects
Stefani has created a successful fashion line, named L.A.M.B., which showcases clothing that Stefani is often seen wearing herself. The line also includes handbags and purses. Celebrities such as Nicky Hilton, Pamela Anderson, and Carmen Electra have been seen sporting her fashion line and LeSportsac bags. No Doubt bassist (and former boyfriend) Tony Kanal donated an X-Ray of his broken finger as an image for L.A.M.B T-shirts. In fall of 2006, Gwen Stefani will release a limited edtion line of dolls dubbed "Gwen Stefani Fashion Dolls." Stefani will release a Limited Edition series of eight dolls entitled Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Inspired by her multi-platinum album and tour, each doll will reflect Gwen's eclectic onstage incarnations. Ranging from her Hollaback Girl to the fashion-forward Harajuku Girls of Tokyo, the dolls in this high-end line will reflect the distinctive style and personality which have made Gwen Stefani an icon. She also designed and promoted a Harajuku girl-themed camera for Hewlett-Packard.
Stefani made her acting debut playing Jean Harlow in the 2004 Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator and made a cameo appearance in the movie Zoolander. Stefani lent her voice to the title character of Malice, a PS2 and Xbox video game; before completion, however, the company opted not to use No Doubt band-members' voices.
Personal life
Stefani had two weddings, which were held in the UK, and U.S.
In December 2005 Stefani and Rossdale announced that they were expecting their first child together, the pregnancy being announced during a concert in Fort Lauderdale, United States. During an August 8 2005 appearance on the radio show Loveline, Rossdale said that he and Stefani preferred to keep their relationship entirely out of the media. He commented that he grew up in a chaotic home, and stated that having a stable environment for his family was important to him. On May 26 2006, their son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, was born at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kingston weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces (3.4 kilograms)[7] [8] and was born by caesarean section due to breech presentation.
Discography
Studio albums
|
Tribute albums
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | CAN | UK | IRE | AUS | ||
| 2004 | "What You Waiting For?" | 47 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| "Rich Girl" (ft. Eve) | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| "Cool" | 13 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | |
| "Luxurious" | 21 | 10 | 44 | 34 | 25 | |
| Number-one singles | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | |
Grammy Award history
| Category | Genre | Song | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Pop | "Hollaback Girl" | 2006 | Nominated |
| Record of the Year | General | "Hollaback Girl" | 2006 | Nominated |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Pop | Love.Angel.Music.Baby | 2006 | Nominated |
| Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap | "Rich Girl" | 2006 | Nominated |
| Album of the Year | General | Love.Angel.Music.Baby | 2006 | Nominated |
| Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Pop | "What You Waiting For?" | 2005 | Nominated |
| Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | Rap | "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" | 2002 | Won |
Notes
- ^ Back in Love: "Fashionistas". MuchMoreMusic programming. Original airdate: September 2006. Retrieved November 13 2006.
- ^ NoDoubtWeb.com. "Information on Stefani's fashion line". Retrieved November 13 2006.
- ^ "Backstage at Gwen's L.A.M.B. Show!". ET. September 16 2006. Retrieved November 13 2006.
- ^ Born to Be. MuchMusic programming. Original airdate: March 2006. Retrieved November 13 2006.
- ^ http://www.nodoubt.com/band/
- ^ MiHi Ahn. Gwenihana Gwen Stefani neuters Japanese street fashion... Salon.com. 9 April 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2006.
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/05/27/1148524919261.html, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=103779
- ^ http://et.tv.yahoo.com/celebrities/14864/
See also
- Harajuku Girls
- Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
External links
- Gwen Stefani
- American dance musicians
- American fashion designers
- American female singers
- American film actors
- American pop singers
- American rock singers
- Grammy Award winners
- Brit Award winners
- No Doubt
- Rhythmic Top 40 acts
- California musicians
- Irish-American singers
- Italian-American actors
- Italian-American musicians
- Roman Catholic musicians
- People from Anaheim, California
- People from Fullerton, California
- 1969 births
- Living people