Gwen Stefani has released her first new solo music in four years, and if you may have forgotten, Gwen’s here to ‘Let Me Reintroduce Myself.’
It’s been a while since the world has been graced by new solo music from Gwen Stefani. For anyone who may have forgotten why Gwen,51, is considered a pop culture powerhouse, she gave a refresher course on Monday (Dec.7) with “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” her first solo song in four years. It’s a reggae-influenced pop bop that bridges her history as a plucky ska-punker from Southern California to her mammoth breakthrough as a pop solo artist. It’s a perfect 101 course for anyone who needs to know why Gwen is such an icon. She even gives a callback to the “Bananas” spelling line in “Hollaback Girl.” “Homegrown ingredients, that’s what made you mess with me / In the first place (Place), ’cause you know I’m like organic / And it tastes great (Great), I already gave you bananas (Woo),” per Genius. Gwen’s last album was 2016’s This Is What The Truth Feels Like, so fans were hyped when she announced the “Let Me Reintroduce Myself” on Friday (Dec.4.) Gwen rolled out the new music by sharing the single’s cover art. In the artwork, the “Don’t Speak” singer wears a pair of outfits inspired by two defining moments from her music career: No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” video, the 1995 breakthrough hit that made Gwen the new “It” girl; and “Hollaback Girl,” which cemented her as a solo artist in 2005. With 2020 marking both the 25th anniversary and 15th anniversary of these moments, respectively, it appears Gwen wanted to pay homage while taking the next step in her music career. “I honestly… never really was planning to do new music,” Gwent told Zane Lowe on Apple Music. “I mean, I fantasized about it, but I was also like… I don’t know. I always think about artists that I loved growing up, and I think I just want to listen to the songs that I like that they did. And that’s nostalgic for me. Do know what I mean? I don’t really go seek new music from them. So something about that made me feel like why should I do it? I love writing songs. So then I was like, someone had sent me a song that I didn’t know they wrote it for me. I thought that they… I never get songs sent to me, just so you know. I always ask, Can someone send me ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna?” I would do that song. Do you know what I’m saying?” “I got sent a song and I actually liked it.
