Gwen Stefani: No Doubt She Ain't No Hollaback Girl

[gik910]

It looks like Gwen Stefani is replacing Christina (just for next season)

http://m.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/gwen-stefani-joins-the-voice-as-christina-aguileras-replacement-2014184

[Kromm]

It looks like Gwen Stefani is replacing Christina (just for next season)

http://m.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/gwen-stefani-joins-the-voice-as-christina-aguileras-replacement-2014184

Wow.  It's like the job requirement is no more complex for the casting than "blond singer".

Not that I object to Gwen.  I like Gwen.  But it's definitely not going outside the box, is it?

[photo fox]

Discuss our newest coach here. I'm going to move a few posts from other topics into this one to get us started.

If somebody has a good topic title idea, I'll edit it.

[Kromm]

Discuss our newest coach here. I'm going to move a few posts from other topics into this one to get us started.

If somebody has a good topic title idea, I'll edit it.

I suppose one of the obvious possibilities might be "Gwen Stefani: Hollaback Girl".  

There could be more contemporary (or wittier) references to her though--since that song is a decade old.

I suppose the subtitle could also be something like "Gwen Stefani: No Doubt She'll Be A Great Coach!

Edited April 19, 2014 by Kromm

[Lily Adler]

Gwen Stefani: No Doubt She Ain't No Hollaback Girl?

[Mattipoo]

I called it in one of my earlier posts! Gwen Stefani is perfect as a coach on "The Voice" because she is relevant and cool, a contemporary of Christina Aguilera on the same level of fame (unlike 90s has been Jewel), and also in need of a second wind in her career (i.e. her last solo album was a while back, and No Doubt is kinda back on hiatus). Plus I think she will be great working alongside Pharrell since they have collaborated together before. So looking forward to next season!

[TheGreenKnight]

So great to have her! (Even moreso after those rumors of Jewel...)

[Kromm]

I called it in one of my earlier posts! Gwen Stefani is perfect as a coach on "The Voice" because she is relevant and cool, a contemporary of Christina Aguilera on the same level of fame (unlike 90s has been Jewel), and also in need of a second wind in her career (i.e. her last solo album was a while back, and No Doubt is kinda back on hiatus). Plus I think she will be great working alongside Pharrell since they have collaborated together before. So looking forward to next season!

I honestly think Jewel is as big a star as Gwen.  Although to be brutally honest neither of them has had a hit on the main radio charts (although I think Jewel may have charter on the country one) in the past 8 or 9 years.

Ultimately they're both "you could never get Rihanna, Taylor Swift, or Beyonce" choices. 

Heck, I was shocked Idol even got someone as currently relevant as Nicki Minaj, although since Minaj turned out to be insane that casting "victory" didn't help them much.

[aradia22]

I remember Platinum Hit and the last season of The Sing Off. No Jewel, please. 

Gwen Stefani is not the best singer but it's possible she'll have some useful advice given her long career and her ability to change up her image and stay relevant. 

 

 

Wow.  It's like the job requirement is no more complex for the casting than "blond singer".

Not that I object to Gwen.  I like Gwen.  But it's definitely not going outside the box, is it?

They seem quite happy in their positions but I kind of wish Adam or Blake would leave so we could see who would replace them. We know the replacement for Cee Lo is to find another African American singer. And I thought the replacement for Christina was to find another blond, female singer of Latin/Hispanic descent but apparently all you need is a female, blond singer. If Blake went, would they look for another country guy? If Adam went would they look for someone who is rock/pop? Or would they just get a white male because the important factor is not having too much diversity?

Edited April 20, 2014 by aradia22

[treebyleaf]

While I am psyched about Gwen (is NBC pandering to its Gen X viewers or what?) and glad there is at least ONE African-American judge on this show and ONE woman judge on this show, NBC doesn't seem to understand that "diversity" isn't "We checked the box for one black judge and one blonde female judge, we're done everybody! Bring on the white men!" It's like the "Smurfette Principle" for both women and people of color. Why not have Pharrell AND Usher? Cristina AND Gwen? Give Adam a rest and bring in someone new?

I know that with only four judges, and NBC's probable fear of losing viewers, that they don't want to take risks... but instead they're strengthening the idea that the "norm" is a white guy. There are soooo many awesome artists out there who would be great in the judge's chair. Why not five coaches and smaller teams -- that way they could shake up the judges while still keeping their precious Blake/Adam duo?

[Lily Adler]

As bad as Duets was, I believe they had the right idea with their judging panel. Nettles and Clarkson were great together.

[Kromm]

While I am psyched about Gwen (is NBC pandering to its Gen X viewers or what?) and glad there is at least ONE African-American judge on this show and ONE woman judge on this show, NBC doesn't seem to understand that "diversity" isn't "We checked the box for one black judge and one blonde female judge, we're done everybody! Bring on the white men!" It's like the "Smurfette Principle" for both women and people of color. Why not have Pharrell AND Usher? Cristina AND Gwen? Give Adam a rest and bring in someone new?

If they have to pick one of the two, please ditch Blake over Adam.  Then, if they must fill their "quotas", at least there are plenty of FEMALE country singers to fill his seat with (including his own wife).

[photo fox]

Replying in the "Coach Suggestions" topic.

[Lily Adler]

I cannot tell if Gwen was singing live with a back track to assist her or if she was full on lip-synching.

[Mattipoo]

I bet Gwen Stefani is going to use "The Voice" as a platform to release and promote her next solo album. It's been ages since her Harajuku Girls days so I am psyched for some new solo material from her. Hope it won't suck (like the last No Doubt album) this time around.

[turbogirlnyc]

I'm really starting to lose some interest in it and have been since after the first Usher / Shakira season.  Many of the artists that get placed on the teams seem very "same ol' - same ol'" to me. 

 

Also, while there was a time where I wanted Adam and Blake to stay forever and ever I am now to the point where I wouldn't mind if The Voice snagged new coaches every season. 

 

Finally, I'm tired of the forever changing formats and the journey from the blinds to the live shows seem to drag on forever with the battle rounds > knock out round > second knock out round, etc.  Stop the multi-round madness!  Let us connect with the artists on a level that surpasses their sob stories, PLEASE!

 

With all that said -- I love Gwen Stefani.  She is the only reason I am tuning in this season.

 

I don't watch this show and never have. When I saw the preview where Gwen is gushing on and on about her 4 fashion lines... barf. She needs to get over herself.

[MissScarlett]

I don't watch this show and never have. When I saw the preview where Gwen is gushing on and on about her 4 fashion lines... barf. She needs to get over herself.

 

I haven't been paying attention to the previews.  But really... what does the fact that she has 4 fashion lines have to do with her being a coach on a singing show?  I take it her team will be best dressed? 

[hammaboo]

I haven't been paying attention to the previews.  But really... what does the fact that she has 4 fashion lines have to do with her being a coach on a singing show?  I take it her team will be best dressed? 

I suppose she has to pull something out to try to compete with the guys.  Maybe Adam mentions his line or something and that's where it comes from.

 

I'm curious to see how she is at persuading people to come to her team.  Personally, Shakira really stunk at that.

[MissScarlett]

I suppose she has to pull something out to try to compete with the guys.  Maybe Adam mentions his line or something and that's where it comes from.

 

I'm curious to see how she is at persuading people to come to her team.  Personally, Shakira really stunk at that.

 

That's a good bet! 

 

I've got my fingers and toes crossed that we are in for an awesome season!  Hopefully the two new judges will breathe some life into the show.

[Padma]

I'm embarrassed to admit I knew little about her. People seem very positive about her as a person, whether they like her music or not. So I was surprised to actually see her for the first time. This may sound catty, but why does such a young woman look like she's already had a face lift? Not just the skin but the stretch upward of her eyes. Is that really natural? I thought it looked really odd.

[turbogirlnyc]

I'm embarrassed to admit I knew little about her. People seem very positive about her as a person, whether they like her music or not. So I was surprised to actually see her for the first time. This may sound catty, but why does such a young woman look like she's already had a face lift? Not just the skin but the stretch upward of her eyes. Is that really natural? I thought it looked really odd.

 

Depends on what you consider young, I guess. Gwen is around 45, if I recall correctly. I might be off, but I know she looks darn good for her age. I never understood why her hair never fell out. She's been bleaching it forever. I once read an article about her (People In Style) and she said she has to get her roots done every 2 weeks if not sooner. Great genetics!

[TheGreenKnight]

I also noticed the eyebrows looking odd. I've been a fan for a while, but she made me think of Joan Crawford/Cruella de Vil. The eyebrows combined with how thin/tall she is and the way she had her hair. Odd.

[Padma]

Depends on what you consider young, I guess. Gwen is around 45, if I recall correctly. I might be off, but I know she looks darn good for her age. I never understood why her hair never fell out. She's been bleaching it forever. I once read an article about her (People In Style) and she said she has to get her roots done every 2 weeks if not sooner. Great genetics!

Okay, I'm going to have to change my "face lift" comment. She's obviously had one, but...a very, very good one! The eyes are stretched upward at the corners too much, but there is no way I thought she was older than, at most, mid-thirties (or a face-lifted, late twenties), so I guess she can't complain. 

[pivot]

She's definitely had some work done. She has that generic look that stars get after plastic surgery.

Was anyone else surprised that she's only won 3 Grammys and sold 30mm albums? Both of those #s seem awfully low for a star of her caliber.

[Mattipoo]

Gwen is my favorite female judge so far. I hope she will be on every season from now on as she is the only female I can see winning a season.

[LexiconDevilOne]

Okay, just a rant...

I have much HATE for Gwen.

I've seen her live, long before No Doubt exploded all over the place. Frankly, I've always though they were never more than 'meh.' By the time her 'pop' career came to fruition, I found nauseating, and it made me think that No Doubt was nothing more than poser music. But, my hate comes from the first time I heard the song 'Wind It Up'. Ruining a song from the "Sound of Music" is a deal breaker.

Thank you for letting me have a place to rant, Previously TV!

for the record, I live in a suburb of Los Angeles. I've seen a TON of bands live that latter go on to become very popular (although, I'm old now, so nowadays, not so much.) Mostly, punk/ska and heavy metal/rock genre.

[SnarkyTart]

I'm finding it more tedious to watch The Voice blind auditions this season than any of the previous 6 seasons.  Gwen is part of the reason, though lack of talent (at least to this point) is a bigger reason.

 

Gwen has never been "all that" and now that her career is waning, she's even less of that.  I've never thought she was a good singer, hardly even a mediocre singer.  Now, thanks to her judge's stint on The Voice, I've learned that she has all the personality of paste. 

 

Meh.

[Kromm]

Gwen being on and tanking is just making me realize that they really need to pay Pink as much money as it will take to get HER to do it.

 

(not that it will make a lick of difference in which coach gets the best acts and/or wins as long as the Blake/Adam dynasties are around and people go to them just for that reason, but it WOULD finally bring a really intelligent female coach to the show--even if she'd rightfully ask the cost of the Earth to be forced to schedule a few months of non-touring time)

[DownTheShore]

I've sorta been liking Gwen's old-time movie star look.  As much as I enjoyed Shakira as a judge, I was getting a little tired of the Latin spitfire schtick.  Gwen's never been much of a blip on my musical radar and I don't know that I could name any songs by No Doubt, though I might recognize a song if I heard it.  What has surprised me with the coaches over the years is how much musical knowledge they have, more than I ever appreciated.  It'll be interesting to see if, when she actually coaches, she has the same depth of musical knowledge and can transform and improve her singers in areas other than style.  I think that it's possible that she has more depth than she is being given credit for.

[Kromm]

I've sorta been liking Gwen's old-time movie star look.  As much as I enjoyed Shakira as a judge, I was getting a little tired of the Latin spitfire schtick.  Gwen's never been much of a blip on my musical radar and I don't know that I could name any songs by No Doubt, though I might recognize a song if I heard it.  What has surprised me with the coaches over the years is how much musical knowledge they have, more than I ever appreciated.  It'll be interesting to see if, when she actually coaches, she has the same depth of musical knowledge and can transform and improve her singers in areas other than style.  I think that it's possible that she has more depth than she is being given credit for.

Perhaps.  But in terms of actual stagecraft it's not encouraging that she thinks standing up in front of a clearly mostly indifferent crowd waving her arms and yelling hoarsely "I'm Just A Girl!" rallies a crowd.  How many people in that crowd seemed to know that "I'm Just A Girl' was an actual song or cared?  Like Adam, and maybe ten percent of that crowd (the older ten percent, I'm sure). It's not even a bad song, but hardly the universal classic her little act implied, and that whole "shout and respond" method of crowd rallying seems kind of sad when that's not the case.

[pivot]

I thought the "I'm Just A Girl" moment was such an asshole move. It made it all about her and just ignored the contestant on the stage. I don't think even Christina would have done something like that.

[DownTheShore]

I think that she's probably trying to differentiate herself from both Shakira and Christina and create her own niche among the boys.

[Cramps]

I think her pitches have gotten better. The first couple of days were awful, but she seems more comfortable and not just parroting the same lines over and over.

[KFC]

Her pitches have been hit-or-miss for me, but I loved the candor of her reaction to an artist picking Adam over the rest of the chairs.

 

"Really? ... WHY?"

 

TRUTH.

[DownTheShore]

Her pitches are going to seem especially hit or miss if the producers are showing the auditions out of sequence.  They might be mixing the more awkward early ones with the more polished later ones.  We wouldn't notice it with Blake or Adam, and Pharrell has a "cool" persona to maintain so there isn't going to be much fluctuation in his behavior.

Edited October 3, 2014 by DownTheShore

[mercfan3]

I was the rare person that actually thought Shakira had great pitches. I just thought she was at an extreme disadvantage. Usher had Bieber (the real life version of The Voice) and Adam and Blake's dynasty...Any non latin artist would look at her and go "she's the least likely to be able help me in the future." And pick elsewhere. Then season 6, Usher made it even rougher for her after his coaching was talked about so much. And Adam and Blake still hadn't lost yet. 

 

Adam, IMO, is really the only one with great pitches. People don't pick Pharrell because he's great at persuasion (he's loveable and great for TV but he's not as convincing.) They pick him because of who he is. 

 

With Gwen, she's at a disadvantage, although not as much like Shakira. Once again, who is least likely to help with the future career. Gwen. That's why I don't mind the girl card, that's really one of the few things Shakira, Christina, and Gwen have over the boys. 

 

Anyway, I like her. I haven't disliked a coach yet though. 

Edited October 8, 2014 by mercfan3

[DownTheShore]

I'd probably pick Pharrell too, thinking that he would provide the best access to the industry over the long-term.

[Kromm]

I'd probably pick Pharrell too, thinking that he would provide the best access to the industry over the long-term.

Unless of course you are a country artist (in which case suckling at the teat of Blake gives you tons of industry access--and EVERY country artist who comes on the show knows this).

The problem with the translation over to guys like Usher and Pharell is that nobody coming on the show has any real indication they'll follow through. Say what you will about Blake, but he made it clear pretty quickly he'd follow through. Even Adam (with his own record label) hasn't done the same (his only signed artist, Rozzi Crane, isn't even from The Voice and her album STILL hasn't come out even though she's been signed by him for years).

[MangoFed]

I think Gwen deserves some heat for her AWFUL sales pitches. For the girls she says "I'll change up your look and get you cool clothes" and for the guys she says "I don't have many dudes on my team". The first is basically bribery, and the second implies she's typecasting to a certain quota. Neither are good pitches.

 

People hate on Adam for his over the top salesman schtick, but he also points out specific parts of the contestant's performance that he liked/didn't like. Gwen keeps it really vague, and I think that's part of the reason she's done poorly at attracting the high-end singers.

[Kromm]

Lord, she's SO bad at this. It's almost Trainwreck Wonderful to watch, she's so epicly bad.

 

Even her version of "Girls unite" is the worst from any female coach yet on this show.

 

The one time I've felt anything convincing from her was with that one guy who did Reggae (which makes sense, of course).

[Hildegard802]

I haven't been watching much at all this go-round because I'm sick to death and tired of the same old same old this show dishes out. Nothing else was on, so I thought what the hell, tune in and see what's going on. The first thing I saw was Gwen. Had I not known it was she, I would've guessed Jessica Simpson. It's one thing to do cosmetic surgery to try to look younger, but when you start changing the shape of your eyes, your mouth, your chin, in general any part of your basic facial structure, you run the HUGE risk of no longer looking like you. That's what she's done. I don't consider it a good thing.

[hincandenza]

It finally hit me last night why I have trouble "recognizing" Gwen since the Lives began. It's because some part of my brain keeps trying to tell me she's a blond Angelina Jolie.

That said, I'm surprised that as dismissive as I was early on with her vapid comments... she's become my favorite coach this season. She's seemed *really* invested in her people, she makes good song choices, her coaching is obviously working, and even her feedback has improved during the performance shows. Pharrell has been a disappointment and the two old dudes have been here too long to care, so it's actually Gwen that's got my support this season.

[mercfan3]

She's the first new coach to have her whole team in tact after the first eliminations. 

[SophiaPehawkins]

Gwen has sort of been under the radar. Before the elimination, Carson said six of the twelve contestants were at one point or currently coached by Gwen. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I don't think so. I think she's making great song choices and getting the best out of her team. I'm rooting hard for Anita Antoinette.

[Mattipoo]

Wow she's a great coach. Hope she wins! Her new music sucks though. Wish she would release something new along the lines of "Hollaback girl".

[Palomar]

I've enjoyed Gwen on this show very much and think she has been a great coach.  Of course, I only watched sporadically before so I don't have a huge basis for comparison.  She seems genuine to me. 

[hincandenza]

Gwen has sort of been under the radar. Before the elimination, Carson said six of the twelve contestants were at one point or currently coached by Gwen. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I don't think so. I think she's making great song choices and getting the best out of her team. I'm rooting hard for Anita Antoinette.

In fairness, as someone pointed out in the results thread, she also had all of the bottom three- Ryan, Jessie, and Sugar- on her team at one point as well. Besides, that six of twelve is largely because during the blinds, battles, and knockouts Pharrell and Gwen had far and away the most stolen contestants- including quite a few of Gwen's stolen by Pharrell and vice versa- so it's actually not that surprising.

[mercfan3]

The fact that she had so many contestants stolen is remarkable though. Shows she did a good job, especially since she was, in general, the contestants fourth choices. It shows she's either got a good ear or she's helping her contestants.

 

And it's not that shocking that 3 of her contestants would be in the bottom. the other contestants that aren't on her team were likely to be the weaker members of the team (because they are only there because they lost). Unless you are Pharrell, you keep your own strongest contestants, meaning your stolen contestants would automatically be the weakest of the bunch. 

[SophiaPehawkins]

In fairness, as someone pointed out in the results thread, she also had all of the bottom three- Ryan, Jessie, and Sugar- on her team at one point as well. Besides, that six of twelve is largely because during the blinds, battles, and knockouts Pharrell and Gwen had far and away the most stolen contestants- including quite a few of Gwen's stolen by Pharrell and vice versa- so it's actually not that surprising.

It says something that people from her team were being stolen. The bottom three also having at one point been on her team, is also simple odds. Only one was actually currently on her team and he won the Twitter vote. 

[ProudMary]

First Blake and Miranda, and now Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale have filed for divorce:

 

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:308dea6d49b14b9ab61cfae6c43f8425

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale filed for divorce on Monday, seeking to end a nearly 13-year marriage between two members of rock music royalty.

Stefani filed her petition citing irreconcilable difference and Rossdale filed a response shortly thereafter, court records show.

The former couple cited irreconcilable differences for the breakup and said in a statement that they would work to raise their three sons together.