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The DL: An Open Letter to Gwen Stefani

  • Posted on Dec 5th 2006 2:47PM by Will Hines
  • Comments
Email This
After hearing Gwen Stefani's latest album, Sara from The DL writes an impassioned plea for Gwen to slap herself in the face.



Watch this segment on The DL site

Read more of Sara's emails
  • Letter to Leto
  • Letter to Diddy
  • Filed under: The DL
  • Email This

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Reader Comments(2 of 2)

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Mitchat 12-08-2006

I'll join the majority. Gwen, come back to Earth.
I think Sara is simply stating the obvious... think "New Coke" - why fix it if it wasn't broke!
New Gwen is like old Coke comming out with New Coke, only it would taste NOTHING like the old original well recieved #1 brand on the planet. Now imagine that New Coke stayed and original Coke never came back. No Doubt about it.

Reply
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GWEN JUMPED THE SHARK!!at 12-08-2006

Dearest Gwen,
I hate to say it, but, I think Sara is right. My wife and I saw NO DOUBT twice
a few years ago here in Detroit and it was right up there with the best concerts
I ever saw. I'm 43 and have seen alot of BIG NAME shows in the past 25 years,so
to say that NO DOUBT was one of the best is saying ALOT!! I hate to say it Gwen,
but...YOU JUMPED THE SHARK!! I know all the kiddies (10-25 yr.olds)
love your new stuff,but it's not even close to the greatness of the NO DOUBT music.
I'll keep watching to see when(or if) NO DOUBT goes back on the road, but please
don't turn your back on us NO DOUBT fans. My wife says"Hi"and she loves you.
Rock On!!


Reply
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Geneat 12-08-2006

No doubt! Wait, there's that word again. I have always been a fan of Gwen, however now that she has completely forgotten where she came from, I have a hard time listening to her.
Hey, I am all about spreading your wings, and branching out. Max exposure is great, but when you stop doing what made you the star in the first place, you really lose your fans.
Gwen needs to go back to where she came from, if nothing else, to at least show the old fans that she still can do the old fashoned music. Whether it is a No Doubt reunion or at least lending some time to help those, now starving, ska artists like Reel Big Fish, that helped make her a star.
New is good, but never forget where you came from. Pop stars are here today, gone tomorrow, but true stars keep their fans even if everything crashes around them. Just ask the remaining members of Sublime..

Just a thought..

Reply
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meat 12-08-2006

Stop hating on Gwen just because you guys are not talented. shes doing good people like it its paying her bills..shes rich so stop effin hatin and if u dont like her music then dont effin turn the radio on cuz honey shes everywhere

Reply
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nancyat 12-11-2006

I agree her new album isnt shit but rotten bananas lol

Reply
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beav715at 12-08-2006

wow... i'm amazed at all the people who are pretending to be open minded and support her new "music". sorry folks, having hiphop producers make a synthed up, studio-brewed, bass-based thump track for her to yell/yodel over is far from respectable. it's like her musical style is devolving as the public is forced to listen. time to go back to singing lyrics over actual musical instruments about something more meaningful then hollerin', dancing and sex. and as far as the argument of "a lot of people like it so it MUST be good" goes, when that many people starting thinking with one brain, something isn't right. MTV, top 40 lists, hot 100 lists, media corp owned radio stations...all are killing individuality and creativity. she's just riding the fad bandwagon. shame on gwen stefani.

Reply
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Rochelleat 12-08-2006

Personally, Im embarrassed for her. This song is horrible..she totally abondoned her fan base and I feel like she is totally selling out to the baby crowd bubble gum groupies that go for anything with a beat. Gwen, I love your old work..I even liked Holla back girl..but this hirajuku (cant spell) is NOT GOOD. (This is only MY opinion)..I know there are many people out there that love it..I do not. Come back to the faithfuls!

Reply
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Mariat 12-08-2006

Dear Sara,

I appreciate the rant. I'm glad to hear that you're still paying attention. However, I'm not sure there was actually a point. You said you liked old Gwen Stefani, but that's like saying you like old cheese. It's still cheese! You even liked Gwen's first solo album. Have you heard this one? Did you think it was really so different that it didn't "qualify" as Gwen?

I know you'll probably get lots of these letters from "Gwenabes" and I admit I am a big Gwen fan. However, I just didn't understand your rant. Please make sure that next time you have something to say, you're actually saying something.

Looking forward to hearing some substance,

Mari

Reply
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Veronicaat 12-08-2006

Yes, I agree we need the old Gwen. The last solo album was allright but now is really not nice at all.And, was going on with her body she is so skinny. Remember when she was in No Doubt she has a rocking body. She look healthy like she ate. Anyways please Gwen next album go back to your roots. Stop with the fake girl.Also those girls need to go away far away they are very scary and annoying.

Reply
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Chrisat 12-08-2006

Gwen's solo career = played out hasbeen.
Ever since she went solo,she sucked! Is she black now? Just curious! She's too talented to record these childish,goofy ass tracks. Grow up,you're in you're 30's.

Reply
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Ashleyat 12-08-2006

I've been a fan of Gwen for 10 years now and I think what she's doing now is great! She needed to explore her musical talent more so she broke off from ND for a few years... relax guys, No Doubt will be working on a new CD as soon as Gwen comes off tour! Yeah, she's 37, big deal!! There are older artist trying to be something they're not... Gwen is just herself! So if you don't like it, then eff off!!

Reply
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DuJuanat 12-08-2006

Okay. What happened to supporting a person for what she does. So she Yodel's no one else Yodel's on a hip hop song. It's fresh. With all of the music sounding the same, Gwen Dares to be different. I love her engergy with No Doubt. And though i'm not for groups just splitting up. Destiny's Child, New Edition, Dru Hill, and other groups to name a few. I actually look forward to seeing how far she's going to go. If you dont like it, dont listen. Let her yodel till she's out of breath.

Reply
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katyat 12-08-2006

alright, first of all, nunya:
you need to shut up with the "acting black shit"- it is people like you that stop the world from growing. and HOW exactly is she acting black?
second, i liked gwen with no doubt better, but i'm not about to bash her because she has made changes. look at all she does; she is one hell of a busy woman, but she still manages to pull together a highly creative record... and do it wearing panties.
so, lets all give gwen a break; if you don't like it, DON'T listen to it- she will still have millions of fans even without you.

Reply
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Randyat 12-08-2006

Your letter to Gwen is about 7 years late.

You do realize that Tragic Kingdom came out in 1995, right? The days of 'Just A Girl' and 'Don't Speak' were over well by 2000 when Return of Saturn came out. And the same close-minded reporters did the same type of story. The headlines, "What happened to No Doubt?" or "Sellouts!" (dis)graced the papers. And then the same thing happened in 2001 with Rock Steady.

See the pattern?

No Doubt has always been the type of band to try new things. Their sound progresses with time and no two albums are the same. What is the purpose of putting out a new album if it is just going to sound exactly the same as the previous one? If that's your thing, go listen to the Goo Goo Dolls.

I applaud Gwen for not only having the courage to try something new by leaving her comfort zone of No Doubt, but doing a damn good job at it too. I could put all the stats here on how successful she is, but you are a "reporter" so you could google all the specifics if you care. My point is that people crave something new and refreshing and Gwen is bold enough to try mixing yodeling and hip hop in order to get that. The Sweet Escape is a merger of almost polar opposite sides of the musical world to create a style that has never been done before.

As far as No Doubt goes, be patient. They will get back together and make another album that will probably be released in 2008. And something that is almost a certainty is that it will have a completely new sound and reporters like yourself will be wondering what happened to 'Just A Girl'...a decade too late.

Reply
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Steveat 12-08-2006

Oh, I agree on SO many levels. I hate how No Doubt, who used to be known as punk, broke up, and their lead singer INSTANTLY sells out, changes her style completely overnight, and no one seems to have a problem with this when she becomes ghetto fabulous.

Reply
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ekkostarat 1-11-2007

I'm a Gwen fan, but at least I know how to spell.

To really get into her music, you have to be a fan of Club Banging, J-Pop, Europop and 80s New Wave. I'm a fan of everything but J-Pop, so I don't mind her music much.

What I found appealing about Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and The Sweet Escape were the New Wave-based tracks. The Club Banging tracks are fun, but the strongest parts of both titles are the tracks with the 80s throwback sound.

Then again, I spend most of my time listening to Robert Palmer and he switched through more genres than Gwen has switched wardrobes during a concert.

Reply
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