Gwen Stefani is back with new solo music for the first time since 2016!
On Monday (December 7), the 51-year-old music icon dropped "Let Me Reintroduce Myself," a new yet nostalgic single tinged with No Doubt vibes to "recycle" herself after taking what fans might describe as a painstaking four-year hiatus.
“Lеt me re, let me reintroduce myself / Case you forgot, no, I'm not records on your shelf, I'm still the original-riginal old me,” Stefani sings on the bouncy, ska-pop track.
“Let Me Reintroduce Myself” is reported to be the lead single from Stefani’s unnamed fifth studio album and is the first non-Christmas or country single she’s released in four years.
“This song is a way of saying I’m back with new music,” she clarified in a statement. “It’s a fun, lighthearted song, because I got inspired and hopefully to bring a little bit of joy. The idea was to write a song that had a bit of a nostalgic feeling to it, so I think musically it reminds you of back in the day, going back to where I started musically which was with ska and reggae. I’m still the same me but here’s something a little bit new in case you feel like hearing a little bit more of me.”
The new single was recorded in quarantine and co-written with Ross Golan (Selena Gomez, Harry Styles, Maroon 5) alongside songwriter/producer Luke Niccoli. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stefani decided to research more about the history of ska.
“It was eighth grade when I learned about ska and Madness and the Selecter and all those bands that started to define the kind of music that I felt like I fit into. Here I was, this Catholic girl from Anaheim doing reggae music,” she explained to Entertainment Weekly. “But that music was all about unity and anti-racism, and that was in the '70s. Then we were doing it in the '90s. And now here we are, again, in the same old mess.”
Stefani will debut the single with a performance on Monday night’s episode of The Voice.
Check out some fan reactions from Twitter: