"She's a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes": Olivia Rodrigo heaps praise on inspirational Gwen Stefani 

Olivia Rodrigo has nothing but kind words to say about Gwen Stefani. In the latter’s exclusive Nylon interview, the Drivers License hitmaker endlessly expressed awe at Stefani’s talent. This comes just days prior to Stefani returning to the stage with her No Doubt band at Coachella.

In the Nylon interview, Gwen Stefani opened up about motherhood, being creative in the music industry, and also collaborating with her husband and fellow singer, Blake Shelton.

It was revealed in the midst of the interview that Olivia Rodrigo was an ardent fan of Gwen Stefani and her meteoric rise.

“To me, she’s a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes and preconceived boundaries and just makes stuff that she thinks is cool. If that’s not a true artist, I don’t know what is," the 21-year-old pop star said in an email to the magazine.

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“There’s so much heart in every word she says”: Olivia Rodrigo discusses Gwen Stefani’s projects with Nylon

Olivia Rodrigo revealed that she discovered No Doubt’s Return of Saturn 2000’s album when she was 15 years old. Speaking about the tracks in the album, which included songs like Marry Me and Simple Kind of Life, Rodrigo said:

“Gwen sang about being a woman moving about this world in detail that I had never before heart put to music… She unapologetically sings about things ranging from wanting to make out with someone to fantasizing about having a husband and kids. There’s so much heart in every word she says, and every song feels like it’s ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know.”

Rodrigo has been open about numerous singers mentoring and inspiring her in the past. A few who she has publicly praised include Kathleen Hanna, Jack White, St. Vincent, and Sheryl Crow, amongst others. She once also revealed in an interview that Rage Against the Machine was one of her favorite bands.

The Deja Vu singer was not the only one to praise Gwen Stefani in the interview. Jimmy Iovine, the co-founder of Interscope Records, Stefani’s long-time record label, said to the magazine that the latter's “spectacular taste” is one of the reasons she has attained stardom.

The 71-year-old, who has also worked with legends like Dr. Dre, John Lennon, and Bruce Springsteen, also revealed to the publication that he believes that whatever Stefani decided to do would not be “corny.”

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“Nobody can get to us”: Gwen Stefani gives fans a glimpse into her personal life

In the feature story, the 54-year-old spoke about her relationship with her husband, country singer and The Voice coach Blake Shelton. The duo recently collaborated on the song Purple Irises, following the release of their rendition of The Judds’ Love Is Alive in 2023.

“When you’re in love and have truly aligned values, nobody can get to us," the GXVE Beauty founder said to Nylon.

Stefani also explained that she does not let fan speculations or fake reports about her private life disturb her.

“And so that [negativity] would never penetrate just by me being vulnerable and sharing a song that I didn’t write for anybody else but myself and Blake.”

In the interview, the Grammy winner also shared the difficult experience of having to return to the studio to work on more tracks. She revealed that once she had given birth to her son Kingston in 2006, she was urged to collaborate with Akon for The Sweet Escape song while her child was just nine weeks old. She went on to clarify that she knew it was the right decision for her career.

Gwen Stefani also shared details of the emotional turmoil she underwent while creating music after becoming a parent to two children. She shared that she did not know why she was “trying to please everybody” when she “should have” spent time with her family.