BuzzSugar

Gwen Going on Tour with Lady Sovereign

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:00:14 -0800

Gwen Stefani just announced the dates of her Sweet Escape Tour, which kicks of April 22 in San Diego and continues with 40 shows through June. Opening acts include Akon and UK rapper Lady Sovereign, which is funny because I just saw Lady Sov quoted in Rolling Stone saying: "This year [in music] has been rubbish. Apart from me, it's just been sh*t."

I'll admit: I'm not a huge fan of Stefani's new album, The Sweet Escape, either. But as a live act, she totally won me over when I saw her perform "Wind It Up" at the Billboard Music Awards. The woman knows how to put on a show. To see the complete list of tour dates, read more

Apr-22 San Diego, CA - Coors Amphitheatre**
Apr-24 Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center**
Apr-25 Bakersfield, CA - Rabobank Arena**
Apr-27 Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre***
Apr-28 Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
Apr-30 Salt Lake City, UT - The "E" Center
May-02 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
May-03 Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
May-05 Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
May-06 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May-08 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
May-09 West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheatre
May-11 Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
May-12 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
May-14 Raleigh, NC - Alltel Pavilion
May-15 Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
May-17 Washington DC - Nissan Pavilion
May-18 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
May-20 Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
May-21 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
May-23 Boston, MA - Tweeter Center
May-24 Philadelphia, PA - Tweeter Center at The Waterfront
May-27 Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel and Casino***
May-29 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
May-30 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
Jun-01 Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
Jun-02 Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
Jun-04 Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
Jun-05 St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
Jun-07 Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
Jun-08 Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Jun-10 Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
Jun-12 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
Jun-13 Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
Jun-15 Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
Jun-16 Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre
Jun-18 Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Jun-19 San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jun-22 Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jun-23 Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

** Akon only
*** Lady Sovereign only

Music Video: Gwen Stefani, "The Sweet Escape"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:48:13 -0800

Yahoo! Music today is premiering the new Gwen Stefani video for "The Sweet Escape," the latest single off the singer's album of the same name. I like the new-wave vibe and catchy "whoo-hoo! yee-hoo!" refrain of this song, which was produced by Akon. But I guess I'd rather listen to Gwen than watch her, because I'm not crazy about the gold-drenched, Rapunzel-inspired video. Check out out the video premiere and let me know what you think.

CD Review: Gwen Stefani, The Sweet Escape

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:46:06 -0800

Gwen Stefani may be channeling Scarface-era Michelle Pfeiffer on the cover of The Sweet Escape (Interscope), but her second solo outing is squarely rooted in eighties pop, with a little bit of Sound of Music thrown in.

While the bizarrely alluring first single, "Wind It Up," has Gwen yodeling and sampling "The Lonely Goatherd," the title track (produced by and featuring Akon) is a veritable kitchen sink of new-wave references, cramming in chimey keyboards, punchy brass, tambourines, and a catchy "whoo-hoo! yee-hoo!" refrain. But the nostalgia doesn't end there. "U Started It" is a well-executed Prince homage, with its sultry vocal melody and synthesized strings, while "Orange County Girl" has Stefani rapping through her life story: "A lot of things have changed but I’m mostly the same / These are a few of my favorite things."

But while the standout tracks on "The Sweet Escape" are undoubtedly unique, most of Stefani's pop/hip-hop hybrids start to sound saccharine after just a few listens. For the rest of my take, read more

"Now That You Got It," one of several Neptunes-produced songs on the album, is a skittish hip-hop experiment that feels grating and repetitive, while the danceable "Fluorescent" suffers from synthesizer overload. One of the most disappointing tracks, however, is the sugary-sweet "4 in the Morning." Despite its party-all-night perspective, the somewhat generic melody could very easily be mistaken for 1990s teen girl pop. So while yodeling over hardcore rap beats may be weird, at least its edgy, and I like my Gwen with a little bit more edge.