Bouquet (Gwen Stefani album)

Background Stefani first started work on the project in February 2020, writing a song called "Cry Happy", which was composed of various lyrics she had compiled onto her phone, and cited this event as her inspiration to continue writing new music for a fifth album. The same year she collaborate with her husband Blake Shelton on country pop singles "Nobody but You" and "Happy Anywhere". During initial reports of a new album from Stefani, critics predicted it would serve as her return to pop music, following her lineup of country and holiday music releases in previous years. In a press release, Stefani commented that the album would return to her roots in reggae and ska music. Stefani said she was inspired by world news events, such as the Me Too movement and COVID-19 pandemic, to create uplifting and positive music; she explained: "[Reggae] music was all about unity and anti-racism, and that was in the '70s. Then we (No Doubt) were doing it in the '90s. And now here we are, again, in the same old mess." Stefani began hinting at the album's namesake on September 6, 2024, posting a series of photographs featuring flowers, all prominently. Stefani said the record has a "flower motif", evident in song titles like "Marigolds", "Empty Vase", and "Late to Bloom", and was inspired by "all the stuff [she] listened to in the station wagon on the way to church" as a child. She created the record following a period of "healing [and] transitioning" that stemmed from the divorce to her ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, part of the subject matter to her 2016 album This Is What the Truth Feels Like. According to Stefani, she was unable to record the project in a consistent schedule due to her parental duties, but rather in "concentrated bursts of creativity". In an interview with NMEs Nick Levine, she added: "I don't go to the studio every day and just self-indulge [...] It's like, hey, [the kids] are at school, I got three hours so let's see if I can get down there to write." Album cover Given the album's cover art depicting Stefani in a cowboy hat, critics predicted Bouquet would serve as her first country album. In reaction, Nylons Dylan Kickham anticipated that "Stefani [would] be riding the cowboy trend like a bronco with at least some of her new music," ==Composition and lyrics==

Stefani described Bouquet as being full of "seventies pop-rock radio gems" with Nashville influence, with critics also describing the album as soft rock, yacht rock, country pop and country. Words and phases like "nostalgia" or "back to her roots" came to Sentinel Colorado's Cristina Jaleru's mind when listening to the album, as she notes influence from Hall & Oates, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac and country music in general. As a result, Bouquet is her most rock-influenced album since her time in No Doubt in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and her most country-influenced album to date. The second and title track, "Bouquet", is a direct ode to Shelton, who she met and fell in love with while they were both coaches on the American talent competition series, "The Voice." At the time, they were both going through divorces to Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert, respectively. The sixth track, "Late to Bloom" combines pop-punk, akin to No Doubt, with country and lyrics of finding later-life love. Stefani's lyric "It's not 1999 / But this face is still mine" refers to what she believes was a highlight in her life, and how she has changed since then. ==Promotion==

performing "Purple Irises" live in July 2024|alt=A color picture of singer Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton performing their song "Purple Irises" live In March 2025, Stefani reissued the album as Bouquet Deluxe with the new single "Still Gonna Love You". An acoustic song and collaboration with American singer-songwriter Finneas O'Connell, the lyrics have a message of resilience. "This song is about love," Stefani said in a statement. "A love that can’t be broken, a love that no matter what is always going to be there, and a love that can always bring you back home. Also included were eleven acoustic versions of the album's songs. Singles "Purple Irises", a duet with Shelton, was released months ahead of the album's announcement on February 9, 2024. The song's release came ahead of its live debut at the Super Bowl LVIII TikTok Tailgate Show and just several days after Shelton's digital EP Love Language, which featured the other Stefani collaborations "Nobody but You" (2019) and "Happy Anywhere" (2020), was released. It was accompanied by an airplay release to contemporary hit radio stations in the United States, reaching numbers 15 and 16 on the Adult Contemporary and Adult Pop Airplay charts, respectively. It also reached the top 40 on Billboards Digital Songs Sales charts in the US and Canada. An accompanying lyric video to "Purple Irises" was released to Stefani's YouTube channel on February 14, 2024. Following the album's official announcement, "Somebody Else's" was announced as the lead single. It was released digitally on September 20, 2024, alongside an audio visual on YouTube. The song was also serviced to contemporary hit radio, and in the United States it reached number 23 on the Adult Airplay chart. In Japan, "Somebody Else's" appeared on Billboard Japans Hot Overseas chart at number nine. It had its first televised live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 1. "Swallow My Tears" was released as the album's next single on October 25. ==Critical reception==

Bouquet received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 56, based on eight reviews. Brendan Sharp of Clash described the album's vibe as "country-inspired," and that Stefani "shows a real vulnerability in her soul-baring lyrics", and founded that "there is a distinct sense of emotional depth at the heart of Bouquet, which feels as though it finds Gwen Stefani at the peak of her songwriting craft". Nina Mende of Cryptic Rock was overwhelmingly positive of Bouquet, which he declared "a great Soft Rock album that will surely please fans all around the world." She added the songs have a county pop-vibe and "come across as genuine and feel quite organic." Fred Thomas of AllMusic similarly felt the "middle-of-the-road contemporary country of Gwen Stefani's fifth album" is far removed from the "electrifying pop of her earlier solo work, let alone the energy and attitude she brought to No Doubt." Sam Franzini of The Line of Best Fit wrote "Bouquet’s botanic metaphors get old quickly." He added, "even when flowers aren't in the picture, she's not at her best," but concludes that "Bouquet is fine as a first country album – there’s a relaxed sheen over the whole thing, and she sounds great as ever – it’s just disappointing for what we know Stefani to be capable of." ==Commercial performance==

Bouquet debuted at number 95 on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 13,000 copies. It became Stefani's first non-Christmas album not to debut in the top 10. The two singles, "Somebody Else's" and "Swallow My Tears", underperformed, with neither appearing on the Billboard Hot 100. Two weeks earlier, she tried selling the album on HSN. Stefani had a thirty-minute conversation with host Nicole Hickl, not only discussing the album but also including prerecorded performances of new songs. Fan reaction to her appearance was mixed with Twitter user love. angel. music. benji. stating: "I never want to hear another fandom complain about their favs career again. Gwen Stefani is out her shilling her album on HSN. I have been in the TRENCHES for this woman." In the United Kingdom, Bouquet debuted at number 44 on the Albums Sales, but did not enter the Albums Chart, her first solo album not to. The album was more successful in Scotland, reaching number 94 on the Albums Chart, but only charting in two other countries, France and Belgium, and only on the Physical Albums in the former. ==Track listing==

Musicians • Gwen Stefani – vocals • Sam Bergeson – electric guitar, programming, synthesizer (all tracks); slide guitar (tracks 1–3, 7–10), background vocals (1, 2, 10), keyboards (2, 3, 7, 9), vocals (4–6, 8, 9), percussion (9) • Jessi Alexander – background vocals • Perry Coleman – background vocals • Tony Lucido – bass • Fred Eltringham – drums • Todd Lombardo – electric guitar (tracks 1, 10), acoustic guitar (2–9) • Tom Bukovac – electric guitar • Gordon Mote – Rhodes (tracks 1, 7, 10), piano (2–9), synthesizer (2–5, 7), organ (5, 6, 8, 9) • Jerry McPherson – electric guitar (track 2) Technical • Scott Hendricks – production, additional engineering • Zack Zinck – engineering • Zachary Acosta – additional engineering • Terry Watson – additional engineering (tracks 1–5, 7) • Sam Bergeson – additional engineering (tracks 1–4, 7–10) • Brendon Hapgood – additional engineering (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 10) • Samuel Hayes – additional engineering (tracks 2–9) • Jeff Juliano – mixing • Nate Juliano – mixing assistance • Andrew Mendelson – mastering • Adam Battershell – mastering assistance • Andrew Darby – mastering assistance • Joey Salit – mastering assistance • Luke Armentrout – mastering assistance • Taylor Chadwick – mastering assistance • Shannon Finnegan – production coordination ==Charts==