Gwen Stefani sees a new version of herself with her 20/20 vision and comeback single “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” which she released on Monday (Dec. 7).
“Let Me Reintroduce Myself” is Stefani’s first solo non-festive release since her third studio album This Is What The Truth Feels Like in 2016. Her signature ska-influenced pop sound reemerges as the 51-year-old pop legend marvels at her gleeful return.
But what’s a new Gwen Stefani single without a few references to her old hits? She nods to the bridge of her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit from 2004 “Hollaback Girl” in the first verse when she sings, “And it tastes great, I already gave you bananas.” The single’s cover art evokes her “Hollaback Girl” punk era (while copying the look she wore on No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” music video from 1995) and juxtaposes it with an edgy, yet ageless-looking Stefani.
On the song’s release day, she recalled to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about feeling sick at the beginning of 2020 and how watching documentaries during lockdown reignited her songwriting process.
“I had watched the R. Kelly one. And it was interesting, because these girls were confessing what had happened to them. And we had gone through the #MeToo thing where people were coming and telling their story,” she said in the new interview. “But it wasn’t until I saw that documentary and a couple other things that really triggered a lot of the things inside me, because I think that sometimes until you hear someone else say something and tell their story, you almost don’t want to face your story, or you don’t want to admit your story to yourself.”
Listen to “Let Me Reintroduce Myself” below.
