Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton seem like an unlikely couple, but the lovers have joined forces to make incredible pop-country hits.
Stefani and Shelton teamed up to write and release “Purple Irises” ahead of the Super Bowl in 2024. While fans are divided on the song, Stefani verified that she’d hate to see her husband ask anyone else to sing in a duet.
Gwen Stefani said she’d be ‘mad’ if Blake Shelton asked another singer to sing a duet with him
Gwen Stefani was overjoyed to announce the release of her new duet with Blake Shelton, “Purple Irises.” The country song brings Stefani and Shelton’s vocals together into perfect harmony. And, of course, the lyrics exemplify their enduring love from now until years to come. The couple performed the new song for the Super Bowl LVIII pregame show on TikTok, and they also sang it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Stefani spoke more about the song to Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel mentioned that he no longer hears of artists producing duets. “I know!” Stefani said. “Well, Blake and I have done a few of them together. And I have hopped on a couple of his songs, which was just like [amazing]. When he’s asking me to do that, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ — like, crying, you know?”
“Would you be mad if he asked somebody else to sing a duet?” Kimmel asked her.
“Yes!” Stefani definitively answered. “Yes!”
Gwen Stefani originally didn’t write ‘Purple Irises’ as a duet
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have unique, different voices, but they meld their sound seamlessly into a country blend. “Purple Irises” shows off both Stefani and Shelton’s vocals. However, Stefani didn’t originally write the song to be a duet.
While speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Stefani noted that Kelly Clarkson helped her jumpstart her creative music-making process during quarantine in 2020. She noted that she wasn’t writing much until Clarkson showed her all the music that she was writing. “And then when I wrote ‘Purple Irises,’ like, fast forward years later, I was like, this is it. This is where I landed, this is me now,” Stefani added. “I’m so excited about this song. And I played it for Blake … and he loved it!”
“Purple Irises” wasn’t originally a duet, as Stefani wrote it just for her to sing herself. However, after Shelton convinced her to wait to release it, she had an idea. “I was like, ‘Wait, do you want to hop on this?’” she asked Shelton. “I would never ask him because everybody wants Blake to be on their song, you know what I’m saying?”
Kimmel pointed out that she should have free rein to ask, considering they’re married.
“I don’t want him to think I’m using him,” Stefani joked.
Blake Shelton says his wife only listens to country music now
Gwen Stefani started in the ska-punk band No Doubt, which launched her to fame in the ’90s. However, her music taste has dramatically changed thanks to Blake Shelton. Shelton said that since they met, Stefani only listened to country music.
“I’ll tell you what, since we’ve been together, I mean, this girl has literally fallen in love with country music,” Shelton said at the iHeart Radio Theater, according to Entertainment Tonight. “It’s all that she listens to; it’s all that’s on in her car. And it’s not to do with me or anything. It’s just she grew up in Anaheim and then moved to Los Angeles. She didn’t hear a lot of country music is all I’m saying. Her parents abused her with this other music they played. Music abuse, I’m telling you, music abuse. She just wasn’t exposed to a lot of country music. But now, it’s all she listens to.”
