‘Hard to Listen’: Gwen Stefani Criticized for Her Performance of ‘Somebody Else’s’ on ‘The Voice’ – Video

Gwen Stefani’s heavily criticized performance of a song from her new album follows the star’s discussion about how the track came to fruition.

During a recent episode of “The Voice,” musical icon Gwen Stefani dazzled the audience with a riveting performance of her song “Somebody Else’s.” However, online viewers who watched and heard her sing criticized the performance, with some pointing out specific aspects they found fault with.

After she was introduced, the camera zoomed in on the show’s stage to reveal an elaborate setup inspired by a gas station.

Aside from the Diesel gas pump and overhead cover, there was a parked station wagon that was surrounded by backup dancers dressed in avant-garde cowboy attire.

Stefani, who donned a glitzy, flowy top, denim shorts, and tan cowboy boots, emerged from the vehicle and began to belt out the lyrics to the song.

The “Hollaback Girl” artist gave the performance her all, exuding palpable emotion as she strutted across the stage, while her backup dancers moved energetically around her.

From the cheers and waving hands spotted across the audience, it is clear that Stefani excited the crowd, who jumped and danced to the beat of the song.

However, the reception the musician received online contrasted with the audience’s reactions, as many aired their grievances with her voice.

“Not a good voice to be honest,” opined a YouTuber, while another remarked, “Her annunciation [sic] of the words is definitely not up to par.”

Someone else echoed, “I wish I could have understood the words more. She needs to annunciate [sic] better.” However, the same person also commended, “Otherwise it was a cute performance!”

“Sorry, but I didn’t understand a word of that song,” admitted another user, referencing the aforementioned problem cited by others. Facebookers hopped on the criticism bandwagon as well, with one penning, “Can’t stand her so called [sic] voice.”

“She can’t sing…” added another. Bringing Stefani’s country star husband Blake Shelton into the mix, a netizen asserted, “Ok love Blake, he loves her so she must be a nice person. However, she really isn’t that talented.”

An observer criticized, “Her voice is so annoying! 🤢🤮,” while another said, “Pretty sweet woman but she should retire. Can’t stand her singing..if you could call it that.” “Can’t stand to hear her sing sounds like she sings through her nose,” stated a social media user.

More critical comments ensued with a spectator noting, “Her voice is irritating.” “The botox [sic] is affecting her voice,” said a Facebooker. Another chimed in with, “Not a fan. She is very pretty but her voice is dreadful 😩.”

“Why is she on ‘the [sic] Voice’? The woman can’t sing!!! My dog howls better!!” exclaimed a vehement social media user, while someone else who sat on the fence expressed, “It is hard to listen to. She talks instead of singing. She is adorable though.”

“Gwen will always have that rock voice .. just stick to your roots Gwen .. your [sic] still a legend,” urged an Instagrammer. Amid the critique, came a few praises.

“Proud to hear her sing like she used to ❤️,” swooned a fan. Another gushed, “Love this one. More like the older version of Gwen,” while a fellow admirer praised, “This song is so fantastic!! 😍✨ @gwenstefani this performance is fire and so EPIC!! 👏🏼🔥🔥🔥🤩💐❤️.”

“Transcendent as always. ❤️🔥,” boasted a fan on Instagram. Another penned, “That’s a unique style I don’t lean to but it sounds so good. She pulled it off.”

“Somebody Else’s” is a single from Stefani’s fifth studio album “Bouquet,” which was released on November 15. The track is one of 10 songs on the album and came out ahead of the album in September.

Before performing “Somebody Else’s” on “The Voice,” Stefani sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone in September where she discussed the song. Interestingly, the artist shared how she never intended for “Somebody Else’s” to feature on the album.

On the matter, the outlet explained, “The subject matter — an almost eff-you aimed at an ex, similar to the breakup songs on her last (non-Christmas) LP, 2016’s ‘This Is What the Truth Feels Like’ — didn’t fit with the rest of ‘Bouquet,’ a collection of songs about flourishing love.”

Contextualizing how the song came to be, Stefani divulged, “I get a text from Madison with a start of a song called ‘Somebody Else’s,’ after a bunch of sessions that we’d done, and in those sessions there’s a lot of confession and just talk about life and where we’re at now, where we were [sic].”

The musician shared how she was initially reluctant to do the song, highlighting that she didn’t know if she wanted “to give that any energy.” However, after writing the rest of her songs, she realized, “You needed to see a little bit of the dark to see the light” and see the place where she had come from.

“Somebody Else’s” is not just the album’s second single; it also serves as “Bouquet’s” opening track, and provides the perfect segue from Stefani’s 2016 record “Truth,” to her “new lease on life with Blake Shelton.”

Speaking about the timing of the musical process in creating “Somebody Else’s” and “Bouquet,” Stefani disclosed, “It seems like eight years probably feels like a long time for a lot of people, but for me, it was eight years of healing, eight years of transitioning, it went really fast.”

She also mentioned, “It’s interesting that this song rose [to become […] the new single], because the rest of the record has nothing to do with that subject.”

Aside from releasing the song itself, the “What You Waiting For” singer also debuted “Somebody Else’s” music video on November 18.

The footage uses beautiful and eye-catching imagery, such as Gwen Stefani flinging the belongings of an ex out the window of a house, to tell the song’s narrative.