Parade (March 1st 2019)

Gwen Stefani on Celebrating Blake Shelton, Her Signature Red Lip and Returning to The Voice

No Doubt lead singer and former coach of TV’s The Voice, Gwen Stefani, 49, extends her Gwen Stefani—Just a Girl residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas into November 2019 and continues to donate money from each ticket sold to the Cure 4 the Kids Foundation.

What’s it like playing Las Vegas?

The thing about touring and doing live shows at this point in my life—it’s really about balancing being a mom [to sons Kingston, 12, Zuma, 10, and Apollo, 5, from her marriage to Gavin Rossdale], being home and being away. In Las Vegas, I’m able to continue to work and do what I love, and be with my children at the same time. It is really fun having Zuma there; he takes me on and off stage for all of my costume changes. He’s actually part of the crew.

You celebrate boyfriend Blake Shelton in your show.

I celebrate Blake every day in my life, and I am so grateful for him. He is my best bestie. The show has sections, and the final act of the Vegas show is a Western theme. I wrote “Make Me Like You” about Blake and that act starts with that song. It’s to show the triumph over some of the heartache in my life.

What is Cure 4 the Kids?

Cure 4 the Kids provides medical treatment to children facing life-threatening conditions. Donations are also helping to fund the foundation’s state-of-the-art building, increasing the number of exam rooms and improving the patient treatment experience.

It looks as if you have donated $40,000 so far to Cure the 4 Kids, plus you are inviting small groups of patients to the shows. What it’s like to have them backstage?

I knew I wanted to do something local for the Vegas community, so partnering with Cure 4 the Kids was perfect. I really love to do things for children. This is an amazing charity, and one dollar from every ticket sold goes directly to these kids that really need it.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have met some of the patients and staff from Cure 4 the Kids at my shows. The whole Vegas show for me has been an amazing, therapeutic and healing process. The show is my life on stage and through music. To be able to get to a place where I think about all of the heartache in the songs that I wrote and the joy and how that translates, it has been amazing.

Fast-forward to now, just getting up onstage and singing my story, and being able to give back to Cure 4 the Kids. I feel so blessed to think about how I can help children. I think about how blessed I’ve been with my kids and how we all have these crazy journeys in life. It is pretty special and I feel very, very grateful.

You also have your own fashion line, L.A.M.B., and a new beauty line on the way?

I have a heart and a passion for creativity. For me, it all comes from the same spot—whether it’s music or a handbag, a shoe, a sweatshirt, a stage show—it’s all about the journey, not the outcome.

When did you discover you have a head for business other than music?

My favorite thing is music, and I really love fashion to go along with that. To be able to be a part of making my own things is something I really enjoy. It’s hard. There is a lot of traffic in my life right now, but I just take things as they come. If I think I can do it well and I feel like it inspires me, then I’ll go for it.

How did your signature red lip evolve? Do you have favorite reds?

I don’t have a favorite color right now. I typically prefer a blue-red, rather than an orange-red. I also like fuchsia. I’ve been wearing a lot of nudes; I like a real ‘60s look, so I’m into that vibe as well. I love makeup, let’s face it.

Did you do something special for Gwen Stefani—Just a Girl to cater to the Las Vegas audience, which likes glitz and showgirls?

I think I was inspired by Vegas, the theme of being in Vegas and all the history that Vegas has. Naturally the show has a Vegas vibe in the sense that it’s so personal and I feel like I interact with the audience more than I ever have because it’s a theater. It has a different, more intimate setting than what I’m used to and haven’t done in a long time.

We wanted to open the show with a real Vegas feel as far as costumes go. I think what is interesting about the show is the clash of Vegas meets my life story and my lifestyle, along with everything I’ve ever done. I really wanted the show to feel nostalgic in a way that people revisit wherever my music was in a time in their life and relive that feeling again.

Your kids went with you to Las Vegas in the summer. But how are you managing it now that school is back in session?

I think really it just takes planning. I know when my shows are coming, so I work my schedule with their schedule and figure out what days they can come. Wednesdays are probably the hardest because I fly out and return the same day really late, but it is actually pretty incredible how it works out.

You put out new music at Christmas. Is there anything else on the horizon? 

When I think about all the different things in my life, music is the one thing that satisfies me. It makes me feel alive and it makes me feel a purpose when I do it. I am looking into doing new music. Yesterday was the first day I forced myself to write some things down and tried to think about what I would like to say, if I have anything to say. Who knows, though? I can never predict the future. It definitely would be a dream come true to release more music.

Any chance you might return to The Voice at some point other than to perform?

You never know. I loved my time on The Voice, and it was always so much fun.