Us Weekly (Oct. 13th 2014)

Gwen's New Gig

She speaks! Stefani sounds off on playing musical chairs

B-a-n-a-n-a-s! The Voice's Gwen Stefani was cooing over newborn son Apollo, now 7 months, in her Beverly Hills home when the phone rang. "The call came in: 'Christina's pregnant. Do you want to do the show?'" the No Doubt frontwoman, 45, recalls. But Stefani, also mom of Kingston, 8, and Zuma, 6, with husband Gavin Rossdale, 48, had doubts about replacing coach Christina Aguilera, 33, on NBC's hit vocal competition (Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 p.m.). "I didn't know what to expect," admits the Fullerton, California, native. "I had a freak-out." She spells it out for Us.

Q: Why did you decide to sign on?

My 18-year-old niece was like, "You've gotta do it." I said, "OK, if you build me a zip line from my house to the lot, because it's literally right there, I could totally do it."

Q: How's working with your fellow newbie, Pharrell Williams?

Pharrell is basically like if Oprah and Yoda had a son. It's unbelievable. He makes everyone cry - even me!

Q: Your husband is Team Gwen's adviser. Were you excited to join forces?

I was nervous. We got into a fight the night before. I was like, "I don't know about this..." But he's so talented.

Q: How would you have fared on the show as a new artist?

I couldn't have dealt with the pressure at 17. I can't even say Stephen Colbert's name right on the Emmys!