Remember when these simultaneously won Best Male Video and Best Female Video at the 2001 VMAs? Who else but Legend Gwen?!
Both are so excellent. "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" might already have my 11 locked down.
I forgot to mention that!
So, a lot happened to Gwen after her "breakout" year in 2001. She got married, had more hits with No Doubt, and became known as a fashion icon. But, after over a decade together, the band needed a break. They put out a greatest hits in 2003, and that would have been the end ...
... except, Jimmy Iovine convinced Gwen to go solo! A hidden ambition, she (after some nudging) agreed, and set out to make a "dance" record. It was to be inspired by all the music she loved as a tween - Madonna, Culture Club, Human League!
She just needed a little inspiration. Alone without her boys, she met with different writers and producers, but couldn't get anything started. (We've all been there, right?) She and Linda Perry had written a rather good song together, but it didn't feel right; after some drinking and pushing on Linda's part, Gwen finally had to confront the question she had been running away from: What was she waiting for?
The response, What Ya Waiting For? found Gwen channeling a few 80s heroines - a little Terri Nunn, a little Terry Bozzio, and voila! An aggressive way to get you out of a stump.
It worked? In the fall of 2004, WYWF was released as her first solo record. It netted her a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance (she lost to another girl in this rate!) and went top ten across Europe. At the time, noted ATRL legend Red/Ryan/Brandon swore it would be a smash here.
US radio wasn't ready for dance-pop. That would fall to another girl we'll see soon!
By this time, Gwen was stunting on them at most fronts. A year earlier, she had launched a fashion line, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Martin Scorcese tapped her to play Jean Harlow in The Aviator, and she came perilously close to nabbing the female lead in Mr & Mrs. Smith.
Imagine that. IMAGINE.
But the record wasn't hitting in her homeland! The album, named after her fashion line, didn't debut at number one! Luckily, she re-collabed with Eve and Dre, and the Fiddler on the Roof sampling Rich Girl went top ten.
The next single, however, would blow the roof of the sucker.
Hollaback Girl launched in the early spring of 2005; within a month, it was everywhere. A collaboration with her musical soulmate Pharrell, HG entranced Americans with its nods to classic Queen songs, and introduced Caucasians to the slang word 'bananas.'
Never one to leave fans behind, Gwen had something for fans who loved her ND sound - Cool. For fans of the band, it was the perfect musical capper to the tortured tales of Gwen and guitarist/first boyfriend Tony Kanal. For pop fans, it was something that got ahead of one 80s trend yet to come, and synced in perfectly to what The Killers were attempting. For fans of sorcery, it was quite a feat to see how 35 year old Gwen so perfectly managed to play a 21 year old in the video!
I would be upset and chagrined if I didn't mention that Gwen had her own set of "Harajuku Girls" who appeared with her on tour, in music videos, and on red carpets.
So, that was it, right? L.A.M.B. produced four top 20 singles in the US, including a number one that became the first single to sell a million digital downloads.
She only said she wanted to do one solo, right? That's what she swore.
Maybe it was becoming pregnant during the halfway point of the album's promotion. Maybe it was a surge of creativity after having her first son. Maybe it was boredom? Or maybe the guys weren't ready to be on again?
No worries. Two years later, Gwen was back! She adopted a Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface aesthetic and mashed it up with a lead single that sampled The Sound of Music. Only Gwen could couple this with a feminist message!
Gwen's second album, The Sweet Escape, was released in December 2006. She was beaten to the top spot by Ciara.
It wasn't my fault, though - I went to Tower Records (RIP) and purchased BOTH ALBUMS.
I would be upset and chagrined if I didn't mention that Gwen had her own set of "Harajuku Girls" who appeared with her on tour, in music videos, and on red carpets.
Why is there no picture of Gwen in the rate's banner
Or is that odd looking, fat looking, platinum blonde supposed to be her?
That's the back cover of LAMB sis.
The title track from The Sweet Escape, featuring the en vogue Akon, would become the album's biggest hit - and would be the reason hundreds of contestants were sent home during Hollywood Week on American Idol.
The third single ruined the album's flow, and, quite frankly, Gwen had rushed into things. She wanted to be back with her creative family.
So that was it.
For that decade.
South Side (with Moby)
Let Me Blow Ya Mind (with Eve)
What Ya Waiting For
Hollaback Girl
Cool
Wind It Up
The Sweet Escape (featuring Akon)