i hate to say it, but gwen stefani seems to have entered madonna territory.
her latest album, the sweet escape, sold over 2 million copies, which is great if you’re a new artist but not so hot for an established act. also, most of her singles failed to ignite at radio. only the title track, which peaked at no. 2 on billboard’s hot 100, could be called a bonafide hit.
on the other side, gwen seems to be thriving on tour. she sells out performances everywhere, and with such high ticket prices, she’s likely making bank. so even if her tunes aren’t tearing up the charts, she’s still a very smart businesswoman.
despite the overall tepid response (and the complete failure of “now that you got it”), stefani is releasing what will likely be the final single from the sweet escape. “early winter” is, in my opinion, a gorgeous ballad that should have been released three singles ago (though i did love “4 in the morning”). hopefully radio will give her another chance, because “winter” could and should be a massive success.
i’ll be posting the video after it premieres on thursday. in the meantime, if you haven’t heard the track, check it out in the media player in the sidebar.
i was surprised when gwen stefani’s “4 in the morning” ended up bombing on the charts. i thought it was pop gold! but perhaps my extreme fandom clouds my ability to truly predict one her singles’ popular potential. hell, i never would have guessed that “the sweet escape” would succeed, but it did. go figure.
i haven’t said much about this season — you can read about it pretty much every where else! — but i must say i would have reacted just like gina glocksen last night if gwen had been coaching me. she was starstruck! and then gina turned it out with a kick ass version of the pretenders’ “i’ll stand by you.” i’m rooting for her, definitely.
congratulations are in order for nelly furtado, who scored her second u.s. no. 1 single today with “say it right.” her rise to the peak of the 
here’s gwen stefani looking flawless at an awards show in france. this is the most done up she’s been in a while — perhaps ever! and i’m really diggin it’. she should do this more often.