TODAY (July 15th 2016)
Singer, songwriter, trendsetter and my girl crush, Gwen Stefani is more than just a girl she’s one of this generation’s hottest superstars
NATALIE MORALES: Singer, songwriter, trendsetter and my girl crush, Gwen Stefani,
TAMRON HALL: Yes.
NATALIE MORALES: --is more than just a girl she's one of this generation's hottest superstars.
AL ROKER: The three-time Grammy-winner hitting a career high note after her latest album This Is What the Truth Feels Like debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
TAMRON HALL: As it should and Gwen has been putting on a great show all morning long as Natalie set our ultimate girl crush of all time--
NATALIE MORALES: Yes.
TAMRON HALL: --woman crush every day--
NATALIE MORALES: Yes, that's pretty.
TAMRON HALL: Seven years, we've missed you so much.
GWEN STEFANI: I'm--
TAMRON HALL: We've seen you but not on stage.
GWEN STEFANI: Look at me. I'm starving for them.
TAMRON HALL: Yeah.
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: I'm like-- I'm so excited to be on tour. I never thought I would have this record let alone be going live with it. I mean, it's just-- I never thought this would happen.
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: And we did the first show on Tuesday. It was magic.
TAMRON HALL: So the question though is what were you waiting for?
GWEN STEFANI: Well, I had a lot going on, I had a lot going on.
AL ROKER: Really, really?
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: A lot of children. Like it was-- it was, you know, it was actually a hard couple years there but I'm so grateful. It's just such an amazing like, I have this like, pile of love I've saved up for these people. You know what I'm saying, because that-- that's something that I have-- it's like an addiction to like--
TAMRON HALL: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: --have that exchange of love where you get up there and you share your story with them and they're singing it back at you and this is-- it's-- the energy is incredible.
NATALIE MORALES: You know what I love, is there was an eighty-one-year-old woman, the very front of the stage.
AL ROKER: Yep.
GWEN STEFANI: I recognize her.
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: I think I saw her.
NATALIE MORALES: She is one of your biggest fans. She's from Florida. And that's how she came all the way.
GWEN STEFANI: She came here?
TAMRON HALL: To see you?
GWEN STEFANI: Oh, my gosh. That's-- that's crazy. I need to go find her and get a selfie with her.
AL ROKER: Wow.
NATALIE MORALES: As I saw her I think of generations of-- of young women to, you know, older women who have embraced you.
GWEN STEFANI: I think that's one of my favorite things about going live, too, because unless you're out there doing the songs and you're face to face, it's all kind of not happening.
AL ROKER: Mm-Hm.
GWEN STEFANI: You know what I'm saying?
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: It's like this, oh, you did this and you did that. It's just words. But when you see them and you see who they are--
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: --it's real. And it's, like, it's crazy to see the impact and-- and how they have impacted me and given me this crazy life, you know, so that's--
NATALIE MORALES: She was singing Hollaback Girl with the "S" word in it.
GWEN STEFANI: Whoa!
(Cross talking)
AL ROKER: Seven years since you've toured. How has it changed for you? I mean, what did-- did you-- did you have to do anything special to get ready for this?
GWEN STEFANI: I did. I had to learn all the songs again. I mean, that was like crazy. And I still certain ones, you know, even the new record which I listen to a billion times because there's something about writing a song about your life and then driving to it by yourself in Hollywood on the hills and makes you just, it's like therapeutic. So you would think I would know them by heart but I still can't. I think that's also what's great about live is like screwing up and like having that moment with people and like I don't know. I just-- I missed it a lot. I did do some No Doubt concerts just like festivals last summer which was some of my favorite shows I ever did. They were just so intense. I think when you, you know, even you don't do something for a while it's really that much better, you know what I mean? And that's what this feels like.
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah.
GWEN STEFANI: Feels like I feel even that much more grateful.
TAMRON HALL: Wow. You talk about opening up in your music, that's been a part of your story line since we all fell in love with you with No Doubt, telling your story including your breakup of the marriage and now your new love with Blake. What is it like as you set to just reveal all of that on paper and then ultimately in song?
GWEN STEFANI: I don't know. I think that at first, you know, when I did it on the Tragic Kingdom, it was so naive. You know, I didn't know anyone would ever hear it and I didn't know I can do it. You know what I'm saying like I hadn't even written a song and all of a sudden just-- they started coming out, it was like, whoa, dad, listen to this. He's like you should keep doing that, you know, I'm like okay. And so it made me feel so good to do it. And I couldn't believe I had a gift, you know. It was weird. It was like I discovered and I have this power suddenly. But it feels really incredible to share, you know, your story and then it-- it's like a bunch of-- you sing it and it's like all these little Band-Aids go all over you like it's so comforting, you know. And I just felt like that was my-- my purpose sort of and I'm honored, you know.
NATALIE MORALES: Well, lot more of--
TAMRON HALL: You tear me up over here. Oh, gosh. It's amazing.
NATALIE MORALES: Deep thoughts.
TAMRON HALL: Yeah.
AL ROKER: All right. Gwen Stef-- Stefani, thank you so much.
GWEN STEFANI: Thank you, guys.