Gwen Stefani has become a certified country artist thanks to her duets with boyfriend Blake Shelton. During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the singer shared what might happen if she decided to make a country album of her own. In a mock infomercial, Stefani promoted an album called “Gwen’s Gone Country,” which saw her put a very twangy spin on some of her own biggest hits.
The clip was introduced by host Jimmy Fallon, in character as “Buck Pinto,” who explained, “If you’re like me, you love the sweet sounds of down-home country music. But if you’re also like me, you love the rocking music of multi-talented superstar Gwen Stefani. Problem is, you gotta choose one or the other. Well, not anymore. Thanks to this new album, ‘Gwen’s Gone Country.’”
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The clip cut to Stefani, wearing a Western shirt, a cowboy hat and her signature red lipstick, strumming an acoustic guitar in front of a green screen displaying a mountain scene, cornfields and other landscapes. She began with a steel-guitar version of No Doubt’s hit “Don’t Speak” before segueing into No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs” and her own “Hollaback Girl,” replacing the song’s stomping bass with a fiddle. At the end of the infomercial, Fallon encouraged viewers to order the “album” by offering a bonus album with their purchase — “Blake Shelton: Big Ska Country,” the cover of which featured Shelton with a spiked green mohawk.
During an interview with Fallon, Stefani remarked that she even worked on a country song, let alone scored a No. 1 hit, which she and Shelton did with their recent duet “Nobody But You.” “It’s really weird,” she said when Fallon mentioned that the song is up for a CMT Music Award. “I definitely bounced through different genres through my career, and it was kind of easy, but this was one I never, ever imagined would happen.”
Stefani noted that her parents would listen to bluegrass music and folk, “so it’s kind of similar, in a way,” and that her first concert was an Emmylou Harris show. “It’s just crazy to think that now, I’m on two records, country records, on the radio, country radio… that’s hard for me to believe. So honored, and I love the song so much, and I’ve learned so much about country music.”
After Fallon noted that country music fans would “sniff out” a “phony,” Stefani praised Shelton for his authenticity. “He is not a phony,” she said. “That guy is Blake no matter where you are… he’s so authentic and that’s what I love about him.”
