Gwen Stefani has slashed the chances of a potential No Doubt reunion after admitting she “can’t really imagine what the future holds” for the band.
The singer, who’s gearing up to release her fifth solo LP, tells Variety she “doesn’t know” about the future of the group, while admitting a possible comeback for the Just a Girl hitmakers is unlikely.
“I don’t know about No Doubt,” she said. “We had so many years together and we all have families now and that’s just our priority. I can’t really imagine what the future holds with that.
“We had done some big shows together, a bunch of festivals probably six years ago, and we knew that was kind of the last thing we were going to do together.”
In the same interview, Gwen hinted it’s a miracle No Doubt stayed together for so long, after tensions began to mount when they released their chart-topping hit Don’t Speak.
“I was the voice of the song so that was my story. I wrote those lyrics, people were relating to me as the lead singer, and I was the girl in the band,” she mused.
“But the band was becoming the shadow of me and that was really hard for them.
“There was a lot of tension between us with the band feeling like I was being put in the spotlight more than them — that competition that they felt. We couldn’t really enjoy the success.”
No Doubt last released new music in 2012 with their sixth LP and first in 11 years, ‘Push & Shove’.
Gwen most recently teamed up with rapper Saweetie for a new version of her latest single Slow Clap – the second track from her forthcoming fifth solo album – after she returned to the charts in December with Le Me Reintroduce Myself.
And Gwen previously revealed her collaborations with co-writers, including Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Busby, Greg Kurstin – along with her brother, Eric Stefani – are a big part of the project.
“I ended up calling my brother who I wrote Don’t Speak with, who was in No Doubt for nine years,” recalled the hitmaker. “And he actually is playing on this record.
“So we all went to his house and get our masks on – There was just this incredible crazy moment to have him play on the record as well…
“It’s when it’s something’s meant to be and you just, like I said, open your heart and follow it. I feel like it was just meant to happen.”
Eric played keyboards, piano and guitar in No Doubt from 1986–1995 and appeared on the group’s first three albums: ‘No Doubt’, ‘The Beacon Street Collection’ and ‘Tragic Kingdom’.
