Gwen Stefani Talks Heartbreak, Happiness, And Her Upcoming Album During Interview With Mary J. Blige

Gwen Stefani recently sat down with Mary J. Blige about to talk about a wide range of topics, including how her new album is coming along, what she might title it, who her biggest inspiration is, and how she’s feeling about life in general. A certain cowboy’s name never came up, but there were a few hints that Blake Shelton was on Gwen’s mind during the interview.

As Beacon Street Online reports, Gwen Stefani was a guest on the January 10 episode of Mary J. Blige’s Beats1 radio show, Real Talk. Gwen had quite a bit to say about her upcoming album, and she revealed that being a coach on The Voice really helped get her creative juices flowing while she was working in the studio.

“Doing The Voice was a really inspiring thing to write new music, because I was going through a drought,” Gwen revealed.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Gwen Stefani recently hinted that she was working on a song about her blossoming romance with fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton. However, Gwen told Mary J. Blige that The Voice contestants also had a major impact on her songwriting process. According to the No Doubt frontwoman, watching aspiring singers perform their own interpretations of other musicians’ songs made her think about the “intentions of song” and the importance of making songs “real and honest” so that people feel their true meanings.

Gwen Stefani told Mary J. Blige that she went into the studio with the intention of producing an album that was “real, honest, and truthful.” She started writing songs back in August, which was the same month TMZ reported that Gwen and her husband of 13 years, Gavin Rossdale, were divorcing. The first song Gwen wrote was titled “Red Flags,” which may likely be about the divorce. According to the Huffington Post, Gwen Stefani stated that said she feels “sick” when listening to some of her old songs because she now realizes that some of the lyrics describe a less-than-healthy relationship.

“You look at the song and you go ‘That was a red flag. That was a moment where I was feeling just as bad as I feel today and why did I keep it up?'” Gwen said during an appearance on The Tommy Show. She also told Mary J. Blige that her divorce has made her look at some of her old No Doubt songs a bit differently.

“When your life makes a big switch and a big change, your eyes are opened,” Gwen Stefani said.

“I hear that music in a different way. I look back at some of the songs from twenty years ago, and go, ‘Wow. That could’ve been written yesterday, idiot. You should have made some changes a long time ago.'”

Gwen Stefani became a superstar by singing about heartbreak, and it sounds like her divorce from Gavid Rossdale got her creative juices flowing once again.

“I feel like I found a channel again to open up, and so I’ve been writing, and it’s been the most incredible experience of my life.”

In the studio w @justin_tranter @imjmichaels @GregKurstin #musicismagic gx pic.twitter.com/JEXIWLFSPx

— Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) January 7, 2016

However, Gwen Stefani got a little too real for the record company during the early stages of songwriting for her upcoming third solo album; she was informed that the tunes she was churning out were “too personal,” and she was advised to change the direction that she was going by creating an “artistic album” that likely wouldn’t get any radio play. The day after the record company told her this, Gwen Stefani penned “Used to Love You,” which is now a pop radio hit.

Thank u dear God for this new amazing song we just wrote! #justintranter @imjmichaels @GregKurstin gx pic.twitter.com/Nqc3McdDcZ

— Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) January 7, 2016

Gwen Stefani hasn’t picked a title for her upcoming album, but she knows that she wants it to have something to do with “truth.” She also joked about calling it “I Was Sad, Now I’m Not.”

Gwen Stefani also talked to Mary J. Blige about how important having love and a family has always been to her. When Gwen was younger, she thought that she would have six kids and be retired from the music business by the time “Don’t Speak” became such a massive success. However, it topped the charts in 1996, and Gwen Stefani didn’t give birth to her first child until a decade later in 2006. Gwen told Mary that her parents are her biggest inspiration because “all they cared about was each other and being in love and having a family and trying to make that family the way they wanted it to be.”

Gwen Stefani obviously yearns for something similar, but so far she hasn’t been able to live the “simple kind of life” that she once thought she would have. However, maybe her relationship with Blake Shelton will change all that. Gwen told Mary J. Blige that she’s starting 2016 on a really high note after going on a real roller coaster ride last year.

“I think I might be the happiest I’ve ever been,” Gwen said. “I had a year that was so full of horror – the worst, worst. But at the same time, the greatest stuff as well.”

Blake Shelton was likely part of the “greatest stuff,” and something recently happened to Gwen Stefani that could be a very good omen for her relationship with Blake Shelton. According to Hollywood Life, Gwen and her cowboy beau recently attended a friend’s wedding, and Gwen caught the bride’s bouquet. Perhaps someday soon Gwen Stefani will rock her “Simple Kind of Life” wedding dress in a much happier music video.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]