Gwen Stefani’s ‘Butchered’ Rendition Of ‘Just A Girl’ Was Heavily Criticized By Country Music Fans

Apr 04, 2023 by apost team

Gwen Stefani is one of the biggest pop-rock singers and songwriters from the '90s who rose to fame as the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt. She has also released several successful solo albums, including "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." and "This Is What the Truth Feels Like." 

Stefani has been nominated a total of 18 times at the Grammy Awards, with three wins – one for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and two for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Her husband, on the other hand, Blake Shelton, is a renowned figure in the country music genre. 

Shelton and Stefani met on the set of the popular singing competition show, "The Voice," where they were both coaches and quickly developed a close friendship that eventually turned into romance. One of the reasons Shelton and Stefani's relationship captured the public's attention is their seemingly unlikely pairing. Shelton was from Oklahoma, while Stefani hails from the glitzy California life.

Shelton and Stefani's relationship quickly blossomed into something more. They made their public debut as a couple in November 2015 when they were spotted holding hands at a Halloween party. Since then, the two secretly tied the knot at Shelton's Oklahoma estate in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.

The two attended the 2023 CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on April 2, 2023, where they both stunned audiences on the arrivals carpet. While the two were expected to appear as a couple throughout the show, Stefani attended the show to perform with Carly Pearce. 

While Stefani’s vocal prowess and stage presence is something that has been lauded by many fans worldwide, it somehow annoyed longtime country fans — including fans of Shelton — because of the way she “butchered” a rendition of a No Doubt fan-favorite song. 

Released in 1995 from No Doubt’s album “Tragic Kingdom,” “Just A Girl” is perhaps one of the most iconic songs that Stefani has sung and released in her music career. 

It was a monumental success for Stefani as it was the breakthrough song that popularized the California rock band No Doubt to popularity. It was also their band’s first charting single in the United States – peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Concurrently, it also entered the Hot Rock Songs, Mainstream Top 40 and Alternative Songs charts. Worldwide, the song also performed well commercially – hitting the Top 10 charts in the United Kingdom and Australia, among many other countries. 

The song has also been covered multiple times by country duo Bomshel, which was included in their 2009 debut album, “Fight Like a Girl.” JC Chasez's girl band Girl Radical also made the song their debut single. 

P!nk, one of the biggest singers and vocalists in the world, even sampled “Just A Girl” and Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit" during performances of her singles "Just Like a Pill" and "Who Knew" in many of her performances. It has also been used in several films and television shows like “Clueless,” “Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion” and “Captain Marvel,” and was even covered by Florence and the Machine for the hit series “Yellowjackets.”

“Just A Girl” received overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans and critics alike. According to Entertainment Weekly, the song has “a kitschy appeal rooted firmly in the pop of a decade ago. But the neo-feminist bent of the lyrics makes the song more than just another fun novelty item,” 

Meanwhile, Music Week praised the song and No Doubt, especially for Stefani’s “Bolanesque vocals,” which has “an ear for a good song and a spiky punk image.” 

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With the great acclaim that the song has on its back, longtime devoted fans of Stefani, who also became Shelton’s fans after their wedding, expressed their dismay at the singer’s performance at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. 

Partnering with Pearce might have been a good idea, but it wasn’t her part that has been egged by fans online – it was Stefani’s. 

Based on the performance, Stefani seemed to have enjoyed her time on stage, rocking out with the packed audience inside the Moody Center in Texas. Pearce sang the second verse, harmonizing perfectly with the upbeat head-banging song. 

However, some of the comments pointed out that the performance wasn’t as good as the original song or even Stefani’s previous performances. When the CMT Music Awards posted a snippet of the performance on Instagram, the comment section was flooded with negativities. 

“Wth is going on here. Sorry, but this is terrible. She sounds like she’s trying so hard to change her voice, I don’t understand why,” a user shared. 

"I absolutely love Gwen. This was a disgrace. It was butchered, and it did not belong on Country Music Television Awards," another wrote.

"That was a hot mess," wrote another user.

“Theyre both beautiful and talented but this is not country. Just bc she married a country music artist? no, no, please no,” someone commented. 

“This is awful… nothing makes sense. I used to be a die-hard @gwenstefani fan right up until this… can we talk about staying in your lane and stop trying to make country happen just bc you’re married to @blakeshelton? And the outfit choice was a huge miss for a fashion icon!” a fan frustratingly said. 

Despite the negative comments, Pearce and Stefani enjoyed the performance as they were all smiles and giggling at the end, bringing the house down with their powerful voices! 

Are you a fan of Gwen Stefani? What can you say about her performance? Do you agree with the other fans that this performance was “butchered”? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other Gwen Stefani fans!