<p id=”par-1_12″>It took a painful breakup for <a href=”https://cheatsheet.com/tag/gwen-stefani”>Gwen Stefani</a> to find her voice. </p>
<p id=”par-2_64″>Stefani started <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-felt-like-not-need-no-doubt-especially-the-voice-income-source-claims.html/”>performing with No Doubt</a> in the mid-1980s, but other members of the band took the lead when it came to crafting the group’s pop-punk tunes. It wasn’t until nearly a decade into her time with the group that she started writing songs for what would be the band’s breakout album, <em>Tragic Kingdom</em>, following the end of her relationship with bassist Tony Kanal. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gwen-stefani-said-she-found-myself-when-writing-tragic-kingdom-songs”>Gwen Stefani said she ‘found myself’ when writing ‘Tragic Kingdom’ songs </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gwen-Stefani-No-Doubt-1996.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Gwen Stefani sings into a microphone while on stage with No Doubt in 1996″ class=”wp-image-3735573″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal of No Doubt perform at the Metro in Chicago on June 9, 1996 | Paul Natkin/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_41″>Stefani and her older brother Eric formed No Doubt in 1986, along with their friend John Spence. Kanal joined the group, and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/who-has-gwen-stefani-dated.html/”>he and Stefani started dating</a>. Spence died in 1987, but the band continued, adding new members along the way. </p>
<p id=”par-4_17″>Even in No Doubt’s early days, Stefani says she was a bit of an odd one out. </p>
<p id=”par-5_88″>“I was the only girl that was in a band in my scene,” she recalled in a 2017 interview with <a href=”https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-interview-no-doubt” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Nylon</a>. “The bands out of Orange County were mostly punk. So, the bands that No Doubt was playing with were those bands. It wasn’t necessarily the music that I was listening to. I was listening to Bread and ‘70s love songs, but I loved being able to get up there and having to prove I can compete with these guys and I’m going to get the crowd going.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_30″>In 1994, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-told-10-year-old-son-no-doubt-band-member-dated.html/”>Kanal and Stefani broke up</a>. She was devastated. She channeled her feelings into music through songs like “Don’t Speak.” Around the same time, her brother left the band. </p>
<p id=”par-7_58″>“It wasn’t even until I was in the band for almost nine years [that I started writing],” she said. “I didn’t even write a song. My brother wrote all the songs, and then when I got my heart destroyed and broken, that’s when I wrote <em>Tragic Kingdom</em>, and that’s when I found myself. Before that, I was passive.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-no-doubt-singer-realized-she-had-a-a-gift”>The ‘No Doubt’ singer realized she had a ‘a gift’ </h2>
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<iframe title=”No Doubt – Don’t Speak (Official 4K Music Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/TR3Vdo5etCQ?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Gwen Stefani Said Blake Shelton’s Divorce Announcement Felt Like a ‘Gift’ to Her </a>
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<p id=”par-8_25″>It took years for Stefani to start to explore songwriting. But once she began, she learned she possessed a talent she didn’t know she had. </p>
<p id=”par-9_45″>“I started writing songs. I didn’t even know that I could,” she told <a href=”https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-03-08-gwen-stefani-wants-to-be-known-as-a-songwriter-above-everything-else/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>iHeartRadio</a> in 2021. “Nobody taught me. I don’t know where they came from. It wasn’t until I realized I had this gift to write my feelings out that I started feeling empowered.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_44″>Decades later, writing songs still gives <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-explained-the-voice-failed-produce-stars.html/”><em>The Voice </em>coach</a> that feeling of power. And just like she did when working on <em>Tragic Kingdom, </em>her most recent work still draws heavily from her own life. (Her next album, <em>Bouquet, </em>is due out on Nov. 15.)</p>
<p id=”par-11_71″>“I’m never going to write anything that’s not just completely reflective of what’s going on in my life,” she told <a href=”https://people.com/gwen-stefani-gets-candid-rock-stardom-motherhood-blake-shelton-cover-story-exclusive-7974935″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>People</a> in 2023. “Before I wrote my first song, I was this dyslexic girl who didn’t know how I fit in. Then I was like, ‘Oh, this is my magic power.’ I’m so honored that I got the gift to be able to write music, and I take it super seriously.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_16″><em>For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to </em><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmTM34h0-P7FcCwuA6h6sw/videos” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel</em></a><em>.</em></p>