Gwen Renée Stefani (born: October 3, 1969) better known as Gwen Stefani is an American singer-songwriter known for her YouTube music videos. She is the co-founder and lead singer of the band No Doubt.
Career[]
During her band's hiatus, she went to pursue a solo pop career. In 2004, she released her debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Inspired by 1980s pop music, her album was a critical and commercial success. The album yielded six singles, including What You Waiting For?, Rich Girl, Hollaback Girl, and Cool. Hollaback Girl was her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also the first U.S.A. download to sell over one million copies. In 2006, she released her second album, The Sweet Escape. Among the singles of the album were Wind It Up and The Sweet Escape. The Sweet Escape reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the year-end chart of 2007. Her third album, This Is What The Truth Feels Like, which was released in 2016, was her first solo album to reach No. 1 in the Billboard 200. Her fourth and first full-length Christmas album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, was released in 2017 and charted 19 tracks on Billboard's Holiday Digital Song Sales in the U.S.A. She has also released singles with her husband Blake Shelton, whom she got married to on July 3, 2021, including Nobody But You which was released in 2020. The song reached No. 18 in the U.S.A.
In 2003, she debuted her clothing line L.A.M.B. She later expanded her collection with the 2005 Harajuku Lovers line, inspired by Japanese culture and fashion. The Billboard magazine ranked her as the 54th most most successful artist and 37th most successful Hot 100 artist of the 2000-2009 decade. She was ranked 13th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music list in 2012.
Controversy[]
Racism allegations[]
Gwen Stefani faced backlash in January 2023 after claiming "I'm Japanese and I didn't know it" in an Allure interview promoting her beauty brand. The comment was clearly deemed racially insensitive. Stefani is of Irish and Italian descent, reiterated that she identifies as "a little bit of a Japanese girl", because her father worked for Yamaha Motor Company for 18 years and her visits to Tokyo's Harajuku district. Many criticized her, inluding Asian-American writer Jesa Marie Calaor, who conducted the interview.[1] A representative for Gwen claimed her comments were "misunderstood" but declined to issue a formal clarification.[2]
Tradmarking "Harajuku"[]
Gwen Stefani's association with Harajuku culture began with her 2004 debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., which was heavily influenced by Japanese fashion. She launched her Harajuku Lovers fashion line in 2005 and fragrance in 2008, featuring a quartet of Japanese and Japanese-American backup dancers known as the "Harajuku Girls". The term Harajuku Girl became central to Gwen's brand, but its use sparked controversy over cultural appropriation and racial insensitivity. Comedian Margaret Cho famously criticized the Harajuku Girls as a "minstrel show," reinforcing negative stereotypes about Asian women.[3]
In July 2007, Stefani's Harajuku Lovers brand sued Forever 21 for trademark infringement, claiming the retailer used very similar designs to Harajuku Lovers clothing. This legal action highlighted the commercial value Stefani placed on the Harajuku brand identity.[4] Gwen also tried trademarking the term "Harajuku Lovers", which has been criticized as problematic, due to it being the name of a city district in japan and also her trying to claim exclusive legal rights to a term rooted in Japanese culture.
Discography[]
Solo[]
- Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004)
- The Sweet Escape (2006)
- This Is What The Truth Feels Like (2016)
- You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017)
No Doubt[]
- No Doubt (1992)
- The Beacon Street Collection (1995)
- Tragic Kingdom (1995)
- Return of Saturn (2000)
- Rock Steady (2001)
- Push and Shove (2012)
Trivia[]
- She won 3 Grammy Awards.
- She is Catholic.
- As a solo artist, she has won an American Music Award, Brit Award, World Music Award and two Billboard Music Awards.
- She voiced the character DJ Suki in the 2016 animated Dreamworks film Trolls.
- She could not make it to the second movie, Trolls World Tour, because she was busy that time.
- She had a children's television show called Kuu Kuu Harajuku on Nick Jr. It Lasted two seasons.
- She is a vegetarian.[5]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/11/gwen-stefani-japanese-comments-allure-interview
- ↑ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-01-11/gwen-stefani-japanese-allure-harajuku
- ↑ https://margaretcho.com/2005/10/31/harajuku-girls/
- ↑ https://www.today.com/popculture/gwen-stefani-sues-forever-21-wbna19815731
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMmy74O3evU
