Gwen Stefani Revisits a Bitter Breakup on “Somebody Else’s”

Gwen Stefani will release her fifth solo album, Bouquet, on November 15. But don’t let the flowery title fool you.

The opening track and second single is “Somebody Else’s,” a bubbly yet bitter song about Stefani’s ex. She’s moved on, she’s happy, and she’s better off. But before she goes, Stefani makes clear that her old problem is for someone else to solve.

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Stefani’s fans might speculate to whom the No Doubt singer has directed her ire. Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale seems the obvious target but Stefani keeps away from specifics in the lyrics.

I don’t know what a woman like me
Was doing with a man like you
But now I got a love so true
But I know, I know, I know, I know crazy

Also, “Somebody Else’s” echoes No Doubt’s hit “Don’t Speak,” a breakup song about Stefani’s relationship with her bandmate, bassist Tony Kanal. “Don’t Speak” appeared on No Doubt’s 1995 album Tragic Kingdom. That album topped the charts with an endless stream of hit songs and became the band’s commercial breakthrough.

You’re somebody else’s
And it doesn’t even break my heart
You’re somebody else’s
And I pray for them, whoever they are
Oh, every day with you is rock bottom
Leaving you saved me, my God
Look at me blossom
You’re somebody else’s problem

On Stefani’s 2004 song “Cool,” she expresses a friendly relationship with her ex. But “Somebody Else’s” is the opposite of that. There’s no bittersweet here. It’s a catchy pop song with a middle finger raised, aimed, and held in the direction of a former lover.

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“Somebody Else’s” fits Stefani’s history of confessional songwriting—the kind of writing that inspires current pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo. On Stefani’s influence, Rodrigo told Nylon, “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.”

She explained how Stefani’s songwriting provided a road map for vulnerability. “Gwen sang about being a woman moving about this world in detail that I had never before heard put to music,” Rodrigo said. Rodrigo joined Stefani on stage during No Doubt’s 2024 reunion concert at Coachella, performing “Bathwater.”

Hella Good

Meanwhile, Stefani didn’t plan on a song like “Somebody Else’s.” Her co-writer, Madison Love, sent the initial idea in a text message. Hearing it, Stefani was unsure if she wanted to “give that any energy.” She told Rolling Stone, “What I kind of realized was, after writing the rest of the songs, it felt you needed to see a little bit of the dark to see the light and see where I’d just come from originally.”

Now that you’re dead to me
I feel so alive
And you’re not mine

Bouquet ends fittingly with “Purple Irises,” a duet with her husband Blake Shelton.

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