Gwen Stefani found writing her new record to be a form of therapy.
The No Doubt frontwoman split from Gavin Rossdale last year (15), after 13 years of marriage, with the couple's divorce finalised in April (16). Gwen threw herself wholeheartedly into her music after the split and released her album This Is What the Truth Feels Like in March (16). And in a new interview, the mother-of-three insists the experience of writing the songs and expressing herself through music helped her cope with the pain.
“I feel like God just handed me these songs to me as a kind of Band-Air, to help me through this crazy time in my life,” she told Psychologies magazine. “And it’s all about finding your talent and then sharing it. I think of being able to pour my emotions into songs as a gift. It’s very gratifying to be able to go through those difficult and negative feelings and use them to create something positive again.”
The Hollaback Girl singer added that once she got started on the record, music and lyrics quickly flowed. It also helped that her new beau, country singer Blake Shelton, was supportive of her projects.
“It came together a lot more quickly than I expected. It took me eight weeks, and sometimes it’s taken me three years to finish an album. I wrote Used to Love You (the first single to be released) and, two weeks later, it was on the air. It was like this was all happening in real time,” said Gwen.
The platinum blonde star, who shares sons Kingston, 10, Zuma, eight, and two-year-old Apollo with Gavin, adds that returning to the touring circuit and meeting with fans gave her a great confidence boost. She kicked off her This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour, her fourth solo concert tour, in July (16), trekking throughout North America.
“It’s been so healing, the process of writing it and sharing it. It means a lot to me... to be able to go face-to-face with the people that have actually supported me all these years and through this year especially,” she smiled.
