Gwen Stefani broke the internet (again) earlier this week when she announced her fifth solo studio album, Bouquet. Although Bouquet won’t hit the airwaves until Nov. 15, the lead single, “Somebody Else’s,” dropped Friday (Sept. 20.) The album cover’s cowgirl aesthetic has led some fans to speculate that the former No Doubt frontwoman has fallen under the influence of her husband, country megastar Blake Shelton. However, Stefani is insisting this is not the case.
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Gwen Stefani Says She’s in Her “Yacht Rock” Era
In an interview with Rolling Stone published Friday (Sept. 20), Gwen Stefani strenuously denied any claims that she is putting out a country record. (For what it’s worth, the outlet described Bouquet‘s tracklist as “seventies pop-rock radio gems, channeled through the prism of Nashville.”)
“It’s all the stuff I listened to in the station wagon on the way to church,” Stefani said. “Yacht rock, though it wasn’t called yacht rock then. The music I listen to now, I wanted this album to reflect that.”
In fact, the lyrics to “Somebody Else’s” suggest that Stefani drew inspiration from a past relationship, rather than her current marriage to Shelton.
“I don’t know what a heart like mine was doin’ in a love like that,” sings the “Just a Girl” star. “I don’t know what a woman like me was doing with a man like you / But now I got a love so true.”
The words have prompted speculation that the GRAMMY-winning artist is referring to her ex-husband, fellow musician Gavin Rossdale. Stefani and the Bush frontman were together for 20 years and married for nearly 13 before their split in August 2015. She and The Voice co-star Shelton confirmed their relationship two months later, eventually marrying in 2021.
[RELATED: Gwen Stefani Sheds Light on No Doubt’s Future After Coachella]
“Not Country:” Social Media Backs Gwen Up
After Gwen Stefani released “Somebody Else’s” on Friday (Sept. 20), her loyal fanbase took to social media to gush over the track. And several listeners seemed to agree with her that the song is not, in fact, country.
“the song is not country it’s actually good,” one X/Twitter user wrote.
“Ok, so the song is not as country as i thought it would be,” another fan wrote.
Featured image by SYDNEY KRANTZ/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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