¡viva la graham!

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.

anyway, here’s an extended clip of her new north american single, “now that you got it.” apparently u.s. radio likes gwen best when she enlists a guest rapper, and this time we’ve got damian marley. the track is good, in my opinion, but not as fantastic as some others on her sophomore solo effort. interestingly enough, her fourth european single will be “early winter” (one of my favorites, of course).

after “the sweet escape” bounced around the top ten for longer than expected, “4 in the morning” took a while to see the light of day… but gwen’s new video is finally here!

i hate to say it, but the clip isn’t really remarkable. she’s working the same sort of natural look she did in no doubt’s “underneath it all” video, which was so gorgeous, but this time i was hoping for more. it doesn’t help that i sort of overdosed on this song six months ago. oh well, i’m still hoping it’s a big hit for her.

here’s a pic of gwen giving her two cents last night about the current crop of american idol finalists. you could kind of tell that she didn’t want to be there, but she knew that if she appeared, her record sales would probably skyrocket… and let’s face it, her latest album could use a little push!

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.

gwen is performing on the results show tonight. since akon is going to be there, too, they must be singing “the sweet escape,” even though it has already reached its peak. why not “four in the morning,” gwen? wouldn’t it be smarter to preview your new single??

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 billboard chart ends the seemingly eternal reign of beyonce, who remained on top with “irreplaceable” for basically as long as i can remember.

nelly better enjoy it while she can, cos she’s got some stiff competition hot on her heels. if things go according to plan, gwen will overtake her in the next week or two with “the sweet escape”… just don’t let fergie ferg get to no. 1!! it will only encourage her to punish us with another dreadful solo record.

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.

in other gwen news, new single “the sweet escape” just entered the u.s. top 20 with a bullet. good for you, girl! i’m hoping the same happens with this album as the last. if you don’t recall, “what you waiting for” and love. angel. music. baby. didn’t immediately catch on when they were first released back in 2004. slowly but surely, the album became more popular with each single. if her record label plays it right, the sweet escape could easily do the same.

check out another shot of glamour gwen on the red carpet after the jump.

[photos via dlisted]

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i’m so relieved that the mess that was “wind it up” has come and gone… so let us all rejoice in gwen’s return to form. the video to her new single, the title track from the sweet escape, is out now, and it’s a major improvement upon its predecessor.

if the above youtube clip goes missing, but you should be able to find it at yahoo music. click the picture below for a shortcut!

gwen stefani commandeered the billboard awards earlier this week when she performed “wind it up.” yeah, the song is admittedly borderline lame, but the bitch performed her fuckin’ ass off!

i couldn’t help but think of fergie, who elicited snores when she sang “fergalicious” a half hour earlier. that dumb bitch forgot who was coming up, because gwen showed her how it should be done during her performance.

i’m still not a huge fan of “wind it up,” but i know a good show when i see it. that goat she brought on stage during the intro only made things better.

i think we were all a little bit worried when we first heard gwen stefani’s new single. initially deemed a disposable pop retread, “wind it up” didn’t bode well for gwen’s sophomore effort, the seemingly hastily conceived the sweet escape. it isn’t flawless, but thankfully the album is much better than its preview.

without further ado, here’s my track-by-track review:

• “wind it up” - despite the yodeling and the inane lyrics, i must admit this song is one of the catchiest she’s ever done. even if it sounds like it could be a fergie track, i’ve grown to love it. in the privacy of my own home, of course.
• “the sweet escape” - the careless swagger of this track is its most endearing quality, and the chorus is nice enough. the horns don’t do much for me, really, and as i result i wonder why it was given such a primo spot. is it only because it’s the name of the album?
• “orange county girl” - the only new track she performed on the harajuku lovers tour, the hip-hop-flavored “orange county” wasn’t terribly memorable even then. i could, however, totally imagine it playing in the background at a crucial moment on laguna beach. sad but true.
• “early winter” - in a word, gorgeous. written with keane keyboardist tim rice-oxley, the song’s somber tone is complimented perfectly by its frosty metaphor. it’s the darkest track thus far, and i think it has the potential to be a huge single.

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i’m guessing she knows who gwen stefani is, but i’m not sure she’s jamming to “wind it up” when she gets ready for high tea.

regardless, the video for gwen’s new track is here… and it is of course very well done. going with the sound of music theme is no surprise, really, but it’s entertaining enough. as for the song, it has grown on me somewhat. and now that the promo clip is here, i might as well make it video of the week. (though i’m still not sure if i’d like this if anyone else had recorded it.)

on a side note, a friend of mine pointed out that parts of “wind it up” sound a bit like peaches, if you consider the bassline and gwen’s monotone delivery. strangely enough, i sort of agree. then again, i couldn’t imagine peaches yodeling with a striaght face.