A Love Story Worth Sharing
Singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani released her new album Bouquet on November 15.
It never gets easy being single. You don’t get used to seeing people close to you find love while sitting alone in the corner, waiting for that prince charming. Now and again, some of us single folks appreciate it when others find that Mr. or Mrs. right.
That true love when stars align, eyes cross paths, and two people find each other. That’s magical.
Love is that thing that can change the course of your life. Having experienced it in the past, it’s the most magnificent thing in the world.
Music has always explored the theme of love. Even if many musicians sing about it, it sometimes sounds superficial. Few can remain themselves and express something that comes from deep within their heart.
I’m getting to my main point. My detour is over.
On Friday, Gwen Stefani, the pop icon, released her new album Bouquet, which we needed after the last presidential election.
The singer known for hits such as What You Waiting For? or Rich Girl is in her element. On the album, she is taking time to express what is going through her mind instead of trying to please the industry and get people on their feet.
Bouquet combines pop and country, a cocktail of everything music can offer to us nerds. That’s probably the reason why she chose this title for the album. A bouquet is a collection of different flowers with their singularities and colors.
In the end, the flowers come together to form one art piece. This album is about a set of various songs that form one beautiful love story. A love story worth sharing.
Gwen Stefani shows her true colours on this new project. She also gets more vulnerable than ever. Founding love once more changed her, and it shows. She’s grateful for that life-changing encounter and wants to express how she feels. The album explores her relationship with her husband, fellow musician Blake Shelton. To The Guardian, she admitted that meeting Blake “felt like a second chance at life” and that “God put this other person there to love me [her].”
Gwen’s album is personal. Her first solo project in seven years is short (less than 35 minutes) but so pleasant-sounding. It brings out the best of Gwen Stefani’s voice and reminds us why everyone fell in love with the No Doubt singer in the first place. She stated that to write the songs, she was inspired by the music she grew up listening to in the 70s while in her mom’s station wagon going to church.
At 55 years old, Gwen has mastered that craft. Her experience in the business resonates throughout Bouquet.
There are similarities with past projects. It is less about pop and more about country mixing with soft rock. She likes to call the genre “yacht rock”, which represents singer-songwriters from the 70s like Daryl Hall & John Oates or The Doobie Brothers.
Some aspects of the new album remind me of Cool, at least the vulnerability aspect. Bouquet is different than This Is What The Truth Feels Like, released in 2016. The positivity is still present, but the tone has changed slightly.
It ends with a duet with her husband, Purple Irises, released in February.
Gwen is the same artist as before, but is now more mature. Love overshadows dance on this one.
Just like a flower, Gwen Stefani has blossomed as an artist. She’s right where she should be. She’s in love and reminds everyone that love is achievable.
