Miami Living Magazine

Torrey DeVitto

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I remember. With No Doubt, it was just you out there with your cut off t-shirts [laughs]. GS: [Laughs.] Yeah, but now I'm working with designers to see what they come up with. There are different chapters as far as what I want to look like, and I basically have it all worked out. Now, it's just putting it all together. The title of your Las Vegas show, "Just A Girl" is the title of one of your biggest hits, but it has a double meaning for you. You're always saying, "I'm just a girl from Orange County…" Is that your way of keeping yourself grounded? GS: Honestly, I think if you really knew me or saw my family and how I grew up, I am 100% the same person I have always been. When I wrote that song, "Just A Girl," I was 25 years old, going to college, still living at my parent's house, and I was very naïve. I had a boyfriend at the time that lived at his parent's house. I was driving one day and I'm thinking, "Wow! I really have a different position in this world, being that I'm a female." Did something happen that made you stop and think, "I'm going to be treated a certain way because I'm a girl?" GS: It was just more of a realization that I had. I think we all do as females. I'm walking down the street and some guy just whistled at me? What does that even mean? Suddenly, you're aware of your sexuality and that you're ascribed a certain value because of it. It was when that hit me, that I wrote the song, "Just A Girl." Nobody was paying attention at the time. Nobody was ever going to hear the song. I didn't even know how to write a song. It was just so naïve. I guess I wanted to figure out a way to say, "This is my DNA." And really, my DNA is I am just a girl from Anaheim. I'm just me, and I've never been any thing else. I know that's what got me to this point, by being honest, real, and sharing my story with people. That's all we can do in this life, and I'm nothing more than that. But at the same time, by using my gift, being aware of it, trying to respect it and being confident in it, I've gotten this far. Music is so powerful, and for a song like that to still be relevant twenty years later? In a way, it's even more relevant now. We have so much going on with female empowerment and what's our place? When I read the lyrics of that song I think, "My gosh, that must have been a Godsend," because I know I didn't think that up on my own. I always thought it would go out of fashion, or I'd be too old to say "just a girl" but it still works. Has Blake had any creative input on the Las Vegas show? GS: Obviously, he's my best friend, so I'm bouncing stuff off him all the time. He's one of those people in my life that's super supportive and gets me motivated. There's a whole bunch of songs about him in the show, so that's fun. Like anybody with their best friend, we share everything together. I'll tell him, "I picked my dancers. There were 500 girls that tried out!" And I'll send him videos. Just things like that. Did you choose Planet Hollywood as the venue? GS: I feel like they chose me, and what's really cool about it, is that Planet Hollywood is also the Zappos Theatre now, and the Zappos team is just incredible. They're taking over the theatre with their creativity and it has a very futuristic feel. I also give $1 of every single ticket sold to the children's charity, Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. It's going to add up to be a crap load of money! It's something I'm going to be really proud of. You get very motivated about giving and helping, and making a difference, but you really don't think as one person you're ever going to in your life. I feel that to be able to get up there and share my story, and then make that kind of money to give away is amazing. I feel so proud of that. "Gwen Stefani: Just a Girl" Las Vegas residency tickets are available at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's Zappos Theatre. Order tickets at https://www.caesars.com/planet-hollywood/shows/gwen-stefani.

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