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Gwen Stefani | This Is What The Truth Feels Like | March 18th

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What can we expect from your new music?

As for me, I don’t know what is happening next musically, but I know the way I am going to do it is different. I have already started on it. I feel inspired that I went onThe Voice and did "Hollaback Girl," which is such an old song, and it went back on the charts the next day. It made me feel so happy and made me want to do new music.  It made me think that maybe people might want to hear it.

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Album specifications and release information

Album title: This Is What The Truth Feels Like
Release date: Early 2016
Producer: N/A
Lead single: “Used To Love You”

Track list: 

Lyrics?: 

 

 

 

 

Behind the album

After collaborating with some of the biggest names in the business last year, including Benny Blanco, Gwen admitted that she had moved on from the previous material she had been working on since the material didn’t feel genuine to her and who she is. After suffering another dry spell in the studio, Gwen was paired with hit makers like Charli XCX and Sia to curate a hip and new sound for her while taking advantage of the timing of being on The Voice in 2104. She felt like the songs didn’t suit her, and after her separation from husband Gavin Rossdale, found herself able to channel her energy into her own songwriting again. She more than likely cut ties with her Mad Love deal.

Gwen started to write little things on her own from time to time and was paired again with unfamiliar faces in the studio earlier this year. She notably met with Lana Del Ray songwriter Rick Nowels and he had her sit down at the piano and start back at the basics. She felt uncomfortable trying to explain the emotions she was going through in her personal life but found it came easy for the first time in a long while. She shared that after their first song “You Don’t Know Me” came together, songs started flowing naturally and she found her confidence in herself and her songwriting coming back.

In June, Gwen was scheduled to meet with Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter, hit producer J.R. Rotem, and Grammy-Nominated songwriter Raja Kumari by her new A&R manager. Before getting to work, Gwen expressed to the team that she had no intentions of writing hits and wanted to focus on material that expressed nothing but truth and honesty. After hearing each other out, The Breakfast Club (which Gwen called the group) wrote their first song together titled “Red Flag” which Gwen calls “a work of art” and a true collaboration. Everyone was able to feed off of Gwen’s inspiration and energy and continued to write more and more songs.

In late July, Gwen presented her album to the label and they had a hard time believing they would be able to market the material due it being “too personal”. She felt incredibly hurt and after telling her team what they had said, in a way of rebelling, Gwen told them she wanted to write the most “non-commercial” song ever. After revisiting some of her lyrics she had wrote earlier in the year, “Used To Love You” was written and ironically, everyone at the label loved it. For the first time in 25 years, Interscope personally contacted Gwen and told her she may have a huge hit on her hands. “Used To Love You” was rehearsed for her show in New York and was released unexpectedly on October 13. The single became an instant viral hit for it’s vulnerableness and is one of Gwen’s most emotionally driven songs in a long time.

Gwen has said she has two albums worth of material written and is expecting to release an LP in early 2016. She continues to write new material and is excited to be back in the studio channeling her gift of songwriting.

There was mention of possibly a second single titled “Misery”, which Gwen describes as a “happy song” written with Justin Tranter, J.R. Rotem and Julia Michaels, the same team behind “Used To Love You”.

What to expect

Writing the album has been a form of healing for Gwen and says that listeners will be taken on a journey. She used the words “humorous”, “dark”, “sarcastic” to describe songs on her new album and says that it takes on a sense of “realness”. The album is said to end on a joyful note and is a direct reflection of herself and has come full circle.

Possible tracks

Gwen has stated over the week that she has more than two albums worth of material written and is still continuing to write. She has revealed a few new possible tracks that might make her album, including a second single contender “Misery”, which Gwen describes as a “happy song” and was written in 20 minutes.

Gwen has also confirmed that she has scrapped most (if not all) of her material that was written prior to June, including most notably her beautiful ballad co-penned with Sia, “Start a War”.

Songs listed in alphabetical order with titles subject to change:

– “Baby Don’t Lie” / (B. Blanco, G. Stefani, R. Tedder, N. Zancanella)
Released initially as the first single from her new album, Gwen shared that the original title of the song was “Baby Don’t Cry”. We’re about 99% sure this song won’t make the album and Gwen gave off the impression that the material that came out of these studio sessions didn’t feel real enough for her to continue on with.

https://youtu.be/9uo9oy-Eqo4

 

– “Carousel” /
During a radio interview with JoJo Wright in 2014, Gwen shared that herself and Pharrell Williams re-worked one of her abandoned tracks from The Sweet Escape writing sessions while in Miami. We hope this one still makes the album and/or is released at some point since we’ve been thinking about it for almost ten years (“Candyland” anyone?)

– “Confection” / (A. R. Curtis, A. S. Heard, M. G. Charlene, S. Barnes)
After showing up on BMI with Gwen’s name listed as a performer on the song, “Confection” has been assumed by many that a duet was set for her and Latin pop singer, Shakira, whose name was also listed. No other information has been released and rumors have popped up recently that the two would be releasing their “duet” in the near future. While it may be interesting, we don’t see the strategy decision behind a move like that at this time. It was never confirmed that it actually was a duet since it may have been written and presented to both Gwen and Shakira, whom may have passed on the song all together.

– “Heart Shaped” /
A recent track penned with Pharrell Williams, Gwen first mentioned the song title during a radio interview in 2014 with Carson Daly. Gwen didn’t say much more about it, and since we’re a fan of her songs with Pharrell, we hope this song wasn’t included in the batch she scrapped.

– “Hell Yeah Baby” / (C. E. Aitchison, M. Angelakos, M. Hoeiberg, B. Levin, G. Stefani, A. Wüthrich)
“Hell Yeah Baby” was composed by Charli XCX, Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos and Benny Blanco, and was another song title that appeared on BMI’s website. Nothing else is known about the track and may have come out of a writing session for Gwen. She had mentioned she was writing and collaborating with Charli XCX on a few songs over email.

– “Hard 2 Love” / (C. E. Aitchison, M. Angelakos, M. Hoeiberg, B. Levin, A. Wüthrich)
Presumably written for Gwen, “Hard 2 Love” was another song that was listed on BMI’s website and didn’t include any writing credits for her. This track may have also come out of the writing sessions with Charli XCX and Benny Blanco.

– “Lifting You” /
In an interview with FASHION magazine, Gwen mentioned a new song that she had written titled “Lifting You”, which she described as a “little bit a reggae track”.

– “Make Me Like You” /
Gwen shared the title “Make Me Love You” as a new song she had recently written with Justin Tranter, JR Rotem and Julia Michaels.

– “Medicine Man” /
In a new radio interview, Gwen shared that she teamed up with Linda Perry (“What You Waiting For?”) again on a new song titled “Medicine Man” which was written in-flight on the way to No Doubt’s Jazz Festival show in New Orleans.

– “Misery” /
A potential single, Gwen said that “Misery” was written with Justin Tranter, JR Rotem and Julia Michaels and she describes it as a “happy song”. She said that it was written in 20 minutes and may possibly change the title of the song due it’s joyful nature.

– “Naughty” /
Presumably written in June 2015, “Naughty” is one of the first songs to come out the writing sessions with Justin Tranter, JR Rotem and Raja Kumari.

– “Overdose” feat. Miguel / (M. Angelakos, B. Levin, M. J. Pimentel)
Earlier this year, Gwen had confirmed to Cosmopolitan magazine that she had written and recorded a duet with R&B singer-songwriter Miguel saying he (along with Charli XCX and Calvin Harris) “gave her a gift”. Unfortunately this song may be included in the batch that were scrapped.

– “Red Flag(s)” /
“Red Flag(s)” was Gwen’s first song written with songwriting team Justin Tranter, Raja Kumari and producer JR Rotem and calls it a “work of art” and a true collaboration between them. The song notably is what broke the barrier for the group (which Gwen refers to as The Breakfast Club) and inspired a new batch of songs for her in about 8 weeks time.

– “Shine” feat. Pharrell Williams / (G. Stefani, P. Williams)
Written for the Paddington film with Pharrell Williams, “Shine” is another song we’re about 99% sure won’t make the final album cut. The song was not included on the film’s soundtrack and can only be heard during the ending credits and partially as part of the DVD/Blu-ray release. It’s still unclear if Gwen had other plans for “Shine” since she did mention it as a new song that No Doubt was working on alongside Pharrell. The song’s lyrics may have been re-written to reflect the story of the film.

 

– “Spark the Fire” / (G. Stefani, P. Williams)
Gwen released “Spark the Fire” as a second single in 2014 with the intentions of having a new album around the corner. She credited Pharrell Williams for inspiration and instilling confidence in herself after taking a seat back to focus on her personal life. Since it was released and promoted to the full extent, we’re confident “Spark the Fire” won’t make the new album’s final cut.

https://youtu.be/c4lRINPVF50

 

– “Start a War” /
“Start a War” was debuted live in February earlier this year during Gwen’s first solo concert for MasterCard Priceless Surprises in Los Angeles. Co-penned with Sia, Gwen raved about the ballad and it became an instant viral hit among fans and critics. With Gwen’s soaring vocals, the song definitely had that special Sia-touch and fans have been waiting to get their hands on an official version. Gwen said of “Start a War” “…I think the girls are gonna love that one.” Unfortunately, Gwen mentioned her collaboration with Sia was included in the batch of songs that she had scrapped and moved on from, but she didn’t mention “Start a War” in particular. We will just have to wait and see if it’s included on the album.

 

 

– “Together” (Calvin Harris feat. Gwen Stefani) / (B. Blanco / C. Harris / G. Stefani / R. Tedder)
Co-written with Benny Blanco, Calvin Harris and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, “Together” appears on Calvin’s latest album In Motion and we’re expecting Gwen not to include it on hers. Gwen performed live along to “Together” earlier this year in Los Angeles. She had mentioned several times that she was working with Calvin on her new album and it’s unknown if they worked on more together outside of “Together”.

 

 

– “Used To Love You” /
Released as the first official single from her upcoming third solo album, “Used To Love You” was debuted live in New York on October 11 and made it’s way to iTunes the following Monday. The single was unexcpected “Used To Love You” was written recently with Justin Tranter, JR Rotem and Julia Michaels and is one of Gwen’s most emotional songs to date. Fans and critics love the song and it has created such a welcoming buzz for Gwen’s upcoming album which is expected early 2016.

 

 

– “War Paint” /
Another new title shared by Gwen, she says “War Paint” is “all about facing your life and facing yourself. Who am I today? What do I feel like?” She also revealed that the song has a “tribal” vibe.

– “Whoa” /
“Whoa” is another song that Gwen shared that she was working on with Pharrell Williams in 2014.

– “You Don’t Know Me” /
Written with Rick Nowels, Gwen shared that “You Don’t Know Me” was one of the first songs she attempted to write after her separation from husband Gavin Rossdale. She was paired with the songwriter and was sat down at a piano and found herself going back to basics. Gwen says after writing “You Don’t Know Me”, she was able to channel her emotions and hasn’t been able to stop writing since.

– “Ziplock” / (J. Kasher, R. Golan, G. Lewis, B. Levin, N. Hollowell-Dhar)
Co-written with Benny Blanco, “Ziplock” popped up on the BMI registry as another title written for Gwen (another song where she has no writing credits listed). Gwen has said several times she had moved on from these songs due to them not feeling genuine to her. She went in with the intentions of “curating” an album since she felt like she had nothing to prove and found herself in yet another writers block. After being able to channel her gift again, Gwen re-wrote her entire album in less than 8 weeks. We have a feeling that we may never hear these songs… which may not be a bad thing.

Possible collaborators

Gwen has teamed up with some of the best in the industry for her upcoming album and we’ve gathered a list of names over the years that have been mentioned. Most of the people involved more than likely worked on material that won’t make the final album but it’s interesting to see who was involved, including some names Gwen has said she had wanted to work with.

– Andreo Shaunee Heard
– Aren Wüthrich
– Benny Blanco
– Calvin Harris
– Charlene Martia Gilliam
– Charli XCX
– Curtis Aaron Richardson
– Diplo
– Gamal Lewis
– J.R. Rotem
– Jacob Kasher
– Julia Michaels
– Justin Tranter
– Kap-G
– Love, JT
– Lunchmoney Lewis
– Magnus Hoeiberg
– Mattman & Robin
– Michael Angelakos
– Miguel
– Niles Hollowell-Dhar
– Noel Zancanella
– Pharrell Williams
– Raja Kumari
– Ross Golan
– Ryan Tedder
– Sherrod Barnes
– Sia
– The New Royales

There were also a few names thrown around that either wanted to work with Gwen or were mentioned they were writing for her but were never confirmed:

– Ariel Rechtshaid
– Bonnie McKee
– DJ Mustard
– Jim Jonsin
– Mikky Ekko

 

Thanks to @Chris Pratt for 98% of the info above gaycat1 

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She should have snatched all the songs from Push & Shove and saved them for herself.

 

Can you imagine the slayage of a solo version of Looking Hot? cry6

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edwinfg

111!!!!!!!!1!1!!1!!!!!!!!!!1!!! TRYING NOT TO PANIC ITS HERE SISTREN, THE TRILOGY IS COMING TO AN END  

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It's a pretty safe pop album by her standards but it's still got her special Gwen touch. I like it and I'm sure it'll grow! Make Me Like You and Misery are the best songs on the album however...

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Source       Album specifications and release information Album title: This Is What The Truth Feels Like Release date: Early 2016 Producer: N/A Lead single: “Used To Love You”

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