Gwen Stefani Reveals She ‘Wouldn’t Be Here’ Without This Song — That the Label Made Her ‘Rewrite’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Gwen Stefani in 2023.Photo:Yu Tsai

Yu Tsai

Gwen Stefaniis looking back on her musical legacy.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the pop icon says she wouldn’t still be here today if it weren’t for one special song: “Don’t Speak.”

Gwen Stefani with brother and one-time No Doubt bandmate Eric Stefani in 1998.Gwen Stefani and brother Eric in L.A. in October 2023.Gwen Stefani with brother and one-time No Doubt bandmate Eric Stefani in 1998.PHOTO:Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesGwen Stefani and brother Eric in L.A. in October 2023.PHOTO:Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Gwen Stefani with brother and one-time No Doubt bandmate Eric Stefani in 1998.Gwen Stefani and brother Eric in L.A. in October 2023.

Gwen Stefani with brother and one-time No Doubt bandmate Eric Stefani in 1998.

Gwen Stefani and brother Eric in L.A. in October 2023.

Gwen Stefani with brother and one-time No Doubt bandmate Eric Stefani in 1998.PHOTO:Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesGwen Stefani and brother Eric in L.A. in October 2023.PHOTO:Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

When the band played their new material for their label, “They said, ‘We love the chorus. You should try to simplify the verses,'” Stefani recalls. “He sat at the piano with me and goes, ‘Doo, doo, doo,’ and he started with this super edited version of the melody of the verse. Tony [Kanal, No Doubt’s bassist] had split up with me, and I was about ready to die, and I wrote the words.”

Looking back, “It’s one of those crazy rewrites — probably the only one in history ever that actually turned out to be the heartbeat of my entire life,” Stefani adds. “I wouldn’t be here without that song.”

No Doubt (Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young) in 1997.No Doubt performing at Coachella in April 2024.No Doubt (Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young) in 1997.PHOTO:Pat Pope/ShutterstockNo Doubt performing at Coachella in April 2024.PHOTO:John Shearer/Getty

No Doubt (Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young) in 1997.No Doubt performing at Coachella in April 2024.

No Doubt (Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young) in 1997.

No Doubt performing at Coachella in April 2024.

No Doubt (Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young) in 1997.PHOTO:Pat Pope/ShutterstockNo Doubt performing at Coachella in April 2024.PHOTO:John Shearer/Getty

Pat Pope/Shutterstock

John Shearer/Getty

No Doubt assembled in Anaheim, Calif., in 1986 with Stefani as lead singer alongside Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young. After most recently going on hiatus in 2015, the two-time Grammy-winning band reunited this past April fora special set at the Coachella music festivalin Indio, Calif.

“We worked so hard, and we had so much chemistry between us, and we weren’t trying to ‘make it.’ Every time we went to the studio, it was like us procrastinating from real life to do what we were passionate about,” Stefani recalls of the band’s ’90s breakthrough. “That’s why I feel like the music that we were making at that time was so unbelievably pure.”

The band launched to mainstream fame withTragic Kingdom’s lead single, “Just a Girl,” in 1995.

Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ album art.Universal Music

Universal Music

“‘Just a Girl’ is one of those miracles because I didn’t write it for anyone to hear. I was literally expressing what I felt at that point in my early twenties," Stefani says. “And it went from the girls looking at me [and] competing or ‘What are you doing up there? How dare you try to be a girl and be onstage?’ to they weremygirls; we were one. I always thought I would [outgrow] it, but it almost feels more relevant than it ever has. And it’s such an innocent reflection on finding your own identity through your sexuality — or just thinking, ‘Where do I fit in?'”

Nearly three decades later, Stefani still finds solace — and joy — in songwriting.

“I love writing songs. That’s everything to me,” she says. “If I want to feel like I have any kind of purpose or any kind of value or anything, it’s about writing a song. That’s where I get my fulfillment.”

source: people.com