"Every song feels like it’s ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know." Pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo salutes the rock star who changed her life

Olivia Rodrigo
(Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Acrisure Arena)

Olivia Rodrigo had paid tribute to the inspirational influence of No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani.

Writing about Stefani in Nylon magazine, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter says, “Gwen’s ability to evolve and explore different styles of music, songwriting, and aesthetic while still remaining true to herself is incredibly inspiring. 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.”

Rodrigo goes on to salute Stefani for singing about being a woman in the modern world,  “in detail that I had never before heard 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.”

No Doubt have reformed after a nine-year hiatus and will headline Coachella festival this weekend, April 12-14, and next weekend, April 19-21, alongside the likes of Lana Del Rey, Blur, Deftones, and fellow Orange County ska-punks Sublime.

Speaking with Nylon, Stefani says that she's “open to anything” in terms of what might happen with the band post-Coachella. 

Olivia Rodrigo, meanwhile, is set to kick off the sold-out European leg of her GUTS world tour at Dublin's 3Arena on April 30. The British leg of the tour will see the pop star play two nights at Manchester's Co-Op Live arena (May 3/4), two nights at Glasgow's OVO Hydro (May 7,8), two nights at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham (May 10,11) and four nights at London's O2 arena (May 14-18).

Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.