We're kicking off the New Year with the iconic Gwen Stefani! She joins us for an interview & performance to celebrate her latest album, 'Bouquet' on #AudacyLive 💐
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00:00All right. We're in New York City. We're at Odyssey Live. We are at the Hard Rock.
00:08And we're doing a couple acoustic songs for you guys. And we thought we would just roll
00:12back time. And we would just, like, 20 years. When was that? Love, angel, music, baby. We're
00:18going to do a song called Cool. One, two, three. Bring it.
00:40It's hard to remember how it felt before. Now I've found the love of my life. Passes things,
00:51get more comfortable. Everything is going right. And after all the obstacles, it's good to
01:01see you now with someone else. It is such a miracle that you and me are still good friends
01:14after all that we've been through. I know we're cool. I know we're cool.
01:22And we used to think it was impossible. Now you call me by my new last name. Memories,
01:37they seem like so long ago. Time always kills the pain. Remember how purple of all the
01:49dream days where the mess was made? Look how all the kids have grown. Oh, we have changed,
01:59but we're still the same after all that we've been through. I know we're cool.
02:06C-c-c-cool. I know we're cool. C-c-cool. C-cool. I know we're cool.
02:19And I'll be happy for you if you can be happy for me. And circles and triangles and now we're
02:37hanging out with a new girlfriend so far from where we've been. I know we're cool. C-c-c-cool.
02:48I know we're cool. C-c-cool.
02:57Odyssey Live, we're cool!
03:01Odyssey Live, we're here. I'm Gwen Stefani. We're doing a couple songs live for you guys
03:05just on the fly. Just happened to be walking down the street. They pulled me into the hard rock and
03:09here we are. This next song is called Pretty. This song is about when you basically like
03:15never, you look at yourself like physically or even emotionally through your life and you think,
03:20when did I peak? Like when was I cute? You know what I'm saying? And then you look and you go,
03:26I looked at all my photos and I was like, oh my God, when Blake loved me, I looked stunning. Like
03:30all of a sudden I could see because when someone loves you, you feel good and you feel pretty.
03:35You see, you reflect, like you're reflecting the love, whatever. You don't even have to put this
03:39on there. Okay. I'm just telling for the audience that's in this room. So shut up.
03:42Anyways, guys, I love you. Odyssey Live. Here it is. Pretty off the new record bouquet.
04:12Love that well. Every wrong turn is the one I take. Every wrong move is the one I make.
04:22I blew my petals falling. Then you showed up and you see that you're rolling.
04:32I never felt pretty till you loved me. I always felt pretty, pretty, pretty unlucky.
04:43I never felt pretty till you loved me. And now I feel pretty, pretty, pretty lucky.
05:00And look into my eyes and show me what I couldn't see. I didn't see the light.
05:09And now I sparkle like a diamond ring. Every wrong turn took me right to you,
05:17making out all night in the living room. I blew my petals falling. Then you showed up
05:24and you see that you're rolling. I never felt pretty till you loved me.
05:35I always felt pretty, pretty, pretty unlucky. I never felt pretty till you loved me.
05:49And now I feel pretty, pretty, pretty lucky. Pretty, pretty, pretty lucky.
06:01Pretty, pretty, pretty. Till you loved me. Till you touched me. Never felt so lovely.
06:16Till you, till you, till you, till you. I never felt pretty till you loved me.
06:28I always felt pretty, pretty, pretty unlucky. I never felt pretty till you loved me.
06:42And now I feel pretty, pretty, pretty lucky. Pretty, pretty, pretty lucky.
06:53Pretty, pretty, pretty.
07:02It's a little bit naughty. We're going to do a song called Somebody Else's.
07:08Here we go.
07:12I don't know what a heart like mine was doing in love like that.
07:28I do it in love so bad. But I know, I know, I know, I know now. I don't know what a woman like me
07:36was doing with a man like you. But now I got a love so true. So I know, I know, I know, I know crazy now
07:47that I found the real thing. You don't compare. And I don't care. Yeah, somebody else's.
08:01And it doesn't even break my heart. Yeah, somebody else's. And I pray for them whoever they are.
08:12Oh, every day with you is rough. I don't believe in you. See me, my God. Look at me, bloodstone.
08:20Yeah, somebody else's. You're all I belong to. I didn't know that something so fake could really
08:28make it hurt so real. How'd you go and make it feel like my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault.
08:37Wow. If I could go back in time, I would erase you. But I could never go back there. I might be wild,
08:48but I ain't that crazy now that you're dead to me. I feel so alive. Cause you're not my eye.
09:02Yeah, somebody else's. Yeah, and it doesn't even break my heart. Yeah, somebody else's.
09:11And I pray for them whoever they are. Oh, every day with you is rough. I don't believe in you.
09:20See me, my God. Look at me, bloodstone. You're somebody else's problem.
09:29Oh,
09:47it's somebody else's.
09:59Manipulated about it every time, but not this time. You gas lit my world. It was burning,
10:11had to leave before it stopped turning. So happy I could cry cause you're not mine.
10:21Yeah, somebody else's. Yeah, and it doesn't even break my heart. Yeah, somebody else's.
10:30And I pray for them whoever they are. Oh, every day with you is rough. I don't believe in you.
10:38See me, my God. Look at me, bloodstone. You're somebody else's problem.
10:46Oh, it's somebody else's problem now.
11:01Bouquet is out, my new record. Thank you guys for inspiring me to want to still do music.
11:08And whoever listened to my music all these years, meow, I love you.
11:12Well, I want to do the title track of this record. This is Bouquet.
11:34We met when my heart was broken. Thank God that yours was too.
11:40So lucky that you were going through what I was going through.
11:46And then the next thing you know, we can't leave each other alone.
11:52Kiss me and I felt like home. And that's when I said, you bring the diamond, I'll bring the
12:00promise. You bring the dogs and I'll bring the boys. You gave me everything that I wanted.
12:07I even got your last name. I got the faith and you got the patience. I drive you crazy,
12:14you drive the truck. I know that we'll be okay. We're making our own bouquet. Sunflowers and roses
12:25tied up in a bow. And now look at the life we made. We're making our own bouquet.
12:37I put your name on the dotted line, signed up for more than me.
12:48Saw you turn into the man that you were born to be. And then the next thing you know,
12:57we can't leave each other alone. Kiss me and I felt like home. And that's when I said,
13:06you bring the diamond, I'll bring the promise. You bring the dogs and I'll bring the boys.
13:12You gave me everything that I wanted. I even got your last name. I got the faith and you
13:21got the patience. I drive you crazy, you drive the truck. I know that we'll be okay.
13:28We're making our own bouquet. Sunflowers and roses tied up in a bow. And now look at the life we made.
13:41We're making our own bouquet.
13:58And you bring the diamond, I'll bring the promise. You bring the dogs and I'll bring the boys.
14:15You gave me everything that I wanted. I even got your last name. I got the faith and you got the
14:24patience. I drive you crazy, you drive the truck. I know that we'll be okay.
14:31We're making our own bouquet. Sunflowers and roses tied up in a bow. And now look at the life we made.
14:44We're making our own bouquet. Sunflowers and roses tied up in a bow. And
14:53now look at the life we made. We're making our own bouquet.
15:01Hi, we're at the Odyssey Live Hard Rock Hotel New York with Gwen Stefani.
15:05Yay, here I am guys. This is so cool.
15:08Big congratulations on Bouquet.
15:10Thank you. Thank you. Big day. Thanks for sharing it with me. This is like magical for me.
15:16What was the inspiration? How was this record born?
15:19Oh my gosh, this is a really long answer if you want it. But I just think I felt like
15:26at the end of the pandemic time period, there was just this kind of voice inside me that just was
15:32like, I want to see if I could write a song. And I think that because when I first discovered
15:38songwriting, that I could do it. Because when I was a kid, I didn't really have any
15:43dreams or goals. It just kind of floated. I didn't really, I didn't go, oh, I want to be a singer
15:48when I grow up. Nothing. There was nothing. It was just kind of like, how am I going to get through
15:53this math test? I have no idea what's going on. Do you know what I mean? And I wrote the song and
15:59it was like, oh my gosh, my first song I ever wrote was called Different People. I wrote one.
16:04I don't even know how I did it. Didn't know I could do it. But it made me feel like I didn't
16:11know at that time it was my purpose. But I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy to do something
16:18that's worthy of listening. I can listen to it. You know what I mean? I don't know. I felt so like,
16:23I found my identity. You know what I mean? So I think that when you don't do it, if that's your
16:29identity and your purpose, then there's a voice inside of you that's like, knock, knock. You got
16:35to still do that. That's what you're there for kind of thing maybe. And so I just started flirting
16:41with the idea and went into the studio by Zoom. I was doing a bunch of Zoom. Nobody wanted to
16:47hang out with me in real life. It was crazy. And then I ended up going in the studio and it was
16:52like, everything was covered in plastic. And the girl I was working with, I was like, I wouldn't
16:58recognize her because she had a mask on. We're trying to sing and write songs with masks on.
17:02What were we doing? And that was the start of it. And I think I felt really confused about
17:12what I was at that point. You know what I mean? Stylistically being that I've dived into so many
17:17genres, not on purpose. It just was an evolution of genres. And then who am I now? But I think,
17:24do you remember, I feel like around that time, everyone was getting nostalgic about 90s.
17:29Oh, yeah. We all went there. Yeah. And I felt like it got me inspired. I was like,
17:33Oh, maybe I'll make like a, you know, reggae, a happy, like fun record, you know. But it just
17:40didn't feel right. Every time I would write something, it was just never, it didn't land,
17:44like even for me, because normally, the only way I'll put something out is if I'm obsessed,
17:49and I listened to it over and over and over. And I can't stop like, I could secretly have to lock
17:53myself in the bathroom just to listen. So no one thinks I'm weird listening to myself that many
17:57times. We know how it goes. So so with this album, if every song was an individual flower,
18:03and you kind of have to tie it together to make this beautiful bouquet. So is there a theme that
18:08goes through all the tracks to make the album? I definitely think there's like a light theme
18:14on it. And I got engaged. Four years ago, that's when I started writing it. And typically,
18:21like I'm not like a never been like, how do you call like a creative writer? Like I don't make up
18:26stories like it's just I have to really like, feel something and then then it becomes a song
18:32somehow magically. Thank you, God. Because they just, they're kind of handed down. I feel like
18:37I'm just a vessel and then I'm meant to share them. And then that's that just really is true.
18:42I will promise you that because I'm in the room and I see it happen. And I'm I'm just as like
18:46amazed when I get a good one, too. I'm just like, thank you. But I feel like I've been I just
18:55thinking about like the seed of hope. And just even gardening, like literally, because Blake
19:01and I started doing gardening together. And you know, they say people that garden have longer
19:06life. It's therapeutic. Yes. And my mom used to garden when I was little. And I'd be like,
19:10what is she doing on all fours? Like digging in the dirt? Like, what do you like? That's so boring.
19:16But I guess going to Oklahoma, we were talking off air about this, but I got there and I didn't
19:22know what I was missing with like being around nature, because my nature was like the beach,
19:26Huntington Beach, California, you know, didn't really have much else except for like,
19:31elementary school park that you went to and went on the swings, you know, it was just not a lot of
19:35nature in Orange County. And being there, and he would do all of this, like, big scale, like
19:44planting alfalfa, corn, and he would get so excited about it. Like, he would drive by it,
19:50he would look at the like, when it's gonna rain, he would be like, he would stay up at night and
19:54be like, Oh, my God, there's gonna be a storm. It's gonna rain. I just plan. I mean, he would
19:58be away from me and like, be like, No, I got to go home and plant like,
20:02obsessed, right? And I was like, What is wrong with this person? But then during the pandemic,
20:07we were like, Hey, let's I said, If you're gonna plan all that, why don't you plant something
20:10worth something? Like, let's plant some flowers. Something pretty. Yeah, something pretty. So we
20:15planted some zinnias. And then we also got to see like, the seasons change. And like,
20:19we don't really have that as much like in California, but it was cool to see the wild
20:23flowers come up. And it just became like a hobby for us together. And I think when you look at
20:28nature, you learn so much about your life and about just this life and you know, the cycles
20:34that we go through. And I just saw this metaphor. So it just kind of kept coming up in the songs.
20:39And there is a bit of a floral, like, but it's really about the seed of hope. You know, when you
20:44when you plant something, you can hope and dream, but it doesn't mean it's going to come to life,
20:48you know, if it's not meant to be for you. And when it does, and when it blooms, like, I feel
20:55like I just bloomed, like, I wanted this record. And I fought for it. Like, I really did have to
21:01fight for it for my with myself within myself. And then also, I felt like everyone around me was
21:06like, what are you doing? Like, you already did that. You know what I mean? So it just feels so
21:12good to do it. And now I'm talking about it to you. I love that. I love all of that. And what
21:19else I like is you said you were you were slightly inspired by yacht rock listening growing up in the
21:25back of a station wagon. Is there any artists or musicians that inspired bouquet? So many,
21:32really, like so many, I think, I mean, even before I started writing this record, I can remember
21:37sitting with my label and thinking, you know, I really want to do like, a singer songwriter,
21:42like a record that reflects those songs, like, you know, Carole King, or like the things that
21:48were right there when I was a kid, because I think maybe just as through life, life goes,
21:53you get nostalgic, you know what I mean? You, you, you, like, think about your childhood,
21:58you think about all the things that happened to you, especially when you have children,
22:01then you start to really reflect on that time period. And I also think that just rediscovering
22:08songs, Blake and I kind of landed in this place where we, you know, he's country, I don't know,
22:13one, I at that point didn't know any country. Like, I mean, cowboy boots were like, what is that?
22:18Like, are these cowboy? No. I totally changed my style for you, Blake. But like, I think that like,
22:26we he likes 80s. I love 80s. So I was like, that was like, we landed in that place together.
22:31And then we would do this game where he would be like, Okay, do you know this song? And we just lay
22:36around and be like, we start the song and we'd wait for the course with Oh my gosh, I totally
22:41remember that one. You know what I mean? From my kid, like being a kid. And so started listening
22:45to a lot of that music again, and just like really wanted to make a record that I want.
22:52Like, I can't do a ska record right now. Like that was high school. You know what I'm saying?
22:56Like, I wanted to make something that was honest, real, pure, and appropriate to like,
23:02me who I am now, like not trying to chase the other me's what you're going. I mean, yeah, like,
23:07this is me right now. So it feels good to do that. Like it feels so therapeutic, you know,
23:14to capture it in songs. We're talking about, you know, growing flowers, you must have a favorite
23:21flower because I know you teamed up with farm girl. Yeah. And people can buy bouquets. That
23:28girl's probably like, I have a stalker Gwen Stefani. She's trying to get free flowers from
23:33me all the time. She won't stop emailing me. Now I am flower obsessed. I know you talked about
23:39zinnias. But what else do you like to grow? And I know you've probably got a lot of space,
23:42you know, but we have a lot of space, but it doesn't mean it's easy in Oklahoma. It's like
23:47almost like you have to be there. And it's like the it's crazy weather. It's crazy circumstances.
23:53So it's a whole different challenge. But peonies grow in Oklahoma, and they don't grow in California.
23:59So I got super into peonies. But then it was just kind of devastating because you plant them and it
24:06takes three years for them to mature to get to these big good flowers. And then on top of it,
24:12like half the time I won't be there. It's only like a two week window. And I'm like, last time
24:16I literally picked them and brought them to LA like on a plane because I did not want to miss
24:21like my peonies. But then I did that was kind of my favorite flower because it just and I know that
24:27there's a lot of people out there you're listening. If you're flower people, like when Trader Joe's
24:31gets those peonies in, it's like the fans come out and they're like running to get their peonies.
24:36And they're like, taking pictures of them and look at because they have this like crazy vase life
24:41where they give this show to you, right? They're like they give a show. I love doing the dahlias
24:47because I think they're like the gift that keeps on giving like I didn't know how many flowers they
24:51produce and I just I know they don't cut well and they kind of they go in the vase and then
24:55they die quick but they're worth it. I'll cut them cut them cut them cut whatever's worth it. I just
25:00love it. I don't know why it's just it makes me feel it's like this hope that you get. I don't
25:05know just I go out there with my little coffee. I look at him. Oh, look at you. You grew. It's just
25:13cool. It's nice to see very cool. Shut up. I'm not a geek. You know, when with all your success,
25:20I just want to ask what would you tell your 10 year old self? Oh, that's crazy because I have a
25:2510 year old boy. And so I can really relate to that. I would say like I hate advice, giving
25:30advice because who am I to say anything but what I will say is that when you have a life and you
25:35look back on it, you can see like things that happened and why maybe or you can like kind of
25:42dissect it and go Oh, I was just being myself. I was just with all the flaws, you know, and I
25:51wore baggy pants because I didn't like my legs and I like my tummy. So I cut my shirt off. And you
25:56know, I mean, like things that were just, I didn't have this. So I did this. And it's like,
26:02it's interesting when you look back at it. It's like the one thing that I think made me be
26:09successful was just not trying and doing it like because we loved it. Like we were together nine
26:15years making music in the garage. You know, I'd be like, Dad, I need five bucks. He'd be like,
26:22get the wallet. I gotta run a microphone and the cord is like $1.50. Okay, I need a cord,
26:29you know, and be lucky if I had like 10 cents left over for that Del Taco. And you know,
26:34I'm saying it was just like a time where we did it because it was passion. And we knew we weren't
26:39gonna make it like that would be nobody makes it. So I think when you're pure, and you do it for the
26:45right reasons, and you just, no one's gonna be like you. So I would say that to my 10 year old
26:51self, because I didn't know that until now. I worried about it. I was like, you know,
26:57you let it organically grow. I did. But I'm saying like, through the years, though,
27:02it's like every human being like you, you worry, and you get insecure, and you are trying to find
27:08your purpose. And you don't even know that you're trying to find your purpose until you find you're
27:12older. And then you're like, Oh, that was my purpose. That was my gift, God gave me, I'm
27:16supposed to use it. If I don't use it. That's a sin. Yeah, I'm saying that's how I feel. So that's
27:21why I made this record. Because I was like, you know what, the truth is, is like, it's not a
27:25conceit to say, like to say it, because it's actually we all have gifts, like we all have
27:30something that's unique to us that somebody else can't do, you know what I mean? Or we do it in a
27:35different way. And so I think that it's just really important to recognize it or find that in yourself,
27:40you know? Oh, well, thank you so much, Gwen Stefani. Congratulations on Bouquet. Thank you.