The Wait Was Worth It

Alyssa Vega, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Ten years since her last album, singer/songwriter Gwen Stefani released her new solo album on March 18, This is What the Truth Feels Like is based from her divorce and her new relationship with the country singer and songwriter, Blake Shelton.

 

When Stefani announced her divorce she also publicized that she was working on something new, almost as if she was starting fresh. When she dropped her single off the new album “Used to Love You” you can hear how emotional and honest she was with her situation. She passionately sings these lyrics, “I don’t know why I cry, but I think it’s because I remember for the first time I used to love you.”

 

The cover of the album is a photograph of Stefani, but she was not satisfied of looking happy. She wanted to show her fans the truth of how she felt with her divorce. On the cover of the album, she drew tears on her face and a wedding ring on her finger with a sad face to show how she truly was feeling at the time creating the album.

 

The lyrics on the first song, “Misery” deliberated how much pain she was going through with her divorce. Her lyrics were so raw and honest it sent chills through my spine. Meanwhile, her tremendously powerful voice wails and cries out to Shelton for mercy:  “Put me out of my misery,” and save her from her failed marriage.

 

The song “Red Flag” starts off smooth and slow then when the beat drops it just slaps you in the face. This song on the album stood out the most because it was infused with rap and pop. Stefani sings, “Big mistake, red flags fly. A little late warning signs punish me.”  She talks about her ex-husband and all the red flags of his cheating she carelessly ignored.

 

“Truth” is the best song from the album. Not only does her voice sound raw and honest, just like the others, but her voice sounds powerful and strong, almost as if she is happy than ever before now with Shelton. She sings, “Woah it’s so strange, confusing and I’m so scared, but maybe I deserve this boy after all that I’ve been through.” She continues to sing, “Yeah this is what the truth feels like, and I’m feeling it, I’m feeling it. Something about this just feels so right.”

 

This album is different from her last solo album, The Sweet Escape because you can hear how much she has changed and grown as an artist and I’m feeling it.

 

This is What Truth Feels Like raised the bar higher for me with Stefani. This is her first album to make it on the Billboard 200 chart. This album has shown fans how she is more herself now than she has ever been and she has let down the walls of her emotional barrier. The album as a whole was perfect and was worth the ten-year wait.