Music Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ Is a Romantic Return to Mellow Rock — With an Ageless Voice

 Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
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Music Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ Is a Romantic Return to Mellow Rock — With an Ageless Voice

 Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
Recording artist Gwen Stefani watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets , Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)

Words and phrases like "nostalgia" or "back to her roots" come to mind when listening to Gwen Stefani’s fifth studio album, "Bouquet" — and it is in no way negative.

Across 10-tracks, the powerhouse singer leans into the mellow rock of her youth — think Hall & Oates, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac — with dashes of country vibes here and there. Her voice is ageless, unaltered and distinctive, immediately recalling the early aughts when No Doubt still existed, and Stefani was still a bit of a ska girl.

Thematically, however, the songs are about a woman who’s been through the ringer — but life gave her a reprieve in her second act, and she found stability, lots of flowers and no mo’ drama. In that way, "Bouquet" is a not so furtive ode to husband Blake Shelton — who she met and fell in love with while they were both coaches on the singing reality competition show, "The Voice." At the time, they were both going through divorces to Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert, respectively.

On "Bouquet," the Stefani-Shelton romance arrives through yacht rock sounds and flowery language in songs with titles like "Marigolds,Late to Bloom" and "Empty Vase." When the album reaches its end, it is with a duet with Shelton on "Purple Irises."

If the album tells a story of her relationship, it starts with the opener "Somebody Else's." Stefani starts off the proceedings by listing her previous romantic entanglement and bad choices. "I don’t know what a heart like mine/Was doin’ in a love like that, ah," she sings. "I don’t know what a woman like me/Was doin’ with a man like you, ooh."

It's a direct counter to the title track, where the focus appears to be back on Shelton: "We met when my heart was broken/Thank God that yours was, too," she shares. "So lucky that you were goin'/ Through what I was goin' through."

In "Late to Bloom," she decries the fact that they met so late in life.

A nice bass progression, a clever turn of the phrase and a great voice are what it takes to get this album going. Add a cohesive theme, a pleasant vibe and a charismatic star —- and that's coming up roses.



‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
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‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Superman is often called upon to save the world from evildoers, but in his latest big-screen incarnation, he's also being asked to swoop in and save a franchise.

James Gunn's "Superman," which opened in theaters worldwide this week, is a reboot aimed at relaunching the so-called DC Universe of comic book-based superhero movies, which also features Wonder Woman and Batman.

The celluloid efforts of Warner Bros. and DC Studios have been widely eclipsed by Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe -- the world of Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, who are getting their own reboot later this month.

"Warner Bros. has invested a lot of energy and money in trying to refocus and renew DC Studios, and this is going to be the big release from that," analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research told AFP.

The heavy task falls on the shoulders of Gunn, the writer-director who won praise from fans of the genre with Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy.

The movie's rollout has already encountered several headwinds, including a right-wing backlash to Gunn's comments on Superman's role as an immigrant, and skepticism from fans of the previous Superman films helmed by director Zack Snyder.

Gunn has shrugged off the high stakes surrounding the movie's box office success.

"Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it's not as big as people make it out to be," he told GQ Magazine.

"They hear these numbers that the movie's only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it's just complete and utter nonsense."

The hype around the movie is real -- the White House even superimposed President Donald Trump onto one of the movie's official posters with the caption "THE SYMBOL OF HOPE. TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY. SUPERMAN TRUMP."

- 'A diminished genre' -

Warner Bros. hopes the DC Universe can catch up with Marvel which -- after years of huge successes with the "Avengers" movies -- has seen more muted box office returns with the recent "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World."

Gross explained that superhero films hit a peak right before the Covid-19 pandemic, with box office earnings and audience enthusiasm waning ever since that time.

"It's really a diminished genre," Gross said.

However, the analyst said early buzz for "Superman" was "really good."

The film stars up-and-comer David Corenswet as the new Superman/Clark Kent, with "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan playing love interest Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as arch-villain Lex Luthor.

The story follows the Man of Steel coming to terms with his alien identity as he finds his place in the human world.

The supporting cast boasts a selection of other DC Comics characters, from the peacekeeping Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) -- who is scheduled to reprise the role in upcoming TV series "Lanterns" -- to the mace-wielding Hawkgirl.

Gross noted that July "is the top moviegoing month of the year," leading tracking estimates to forecast a total of more than $100 million for the film's opening weekend in North America.

- 'The story of America' -

DC Studios however must shake off a reputation for producing mediocre films that did not score well with audiences.

The last round of "DC Extended Universe" films included the well-liked "Wonder Woman" (2017) starring Gal Gadot -- but also box office flops like "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (2023) and the under-performing "Aquaman" sequel with Jason Momoa.

"The success was mixed, and they were spending a lot of money on some of the new spinoff characters who were not working particularly well," Gross said, pointing at 2021's "The Suicide Squad" -- directed by Gunn -- as an example.

The last films featuring Superman, starring Henry Cavill and directed by Snyder, were relatively successful for Warner Bros. until "Justice League" -- DC's effort at recreating the "Avengers" vibe -- which lost millions of dollars.

Fans of Snyder have stirred up negative buzz for the new "Superman" movie, voicing hope online that the reboot fails out of a sense of loyalty to the previous films.

The backlash was further widened after right-wing pundits groaned about Superman's specific characterization as an immigrant, lamenting the superhero had become "woke."

Gunn addressed the criticism, telling The Times newspaper that "Superman is the story of America," with the character reflecting those who "came from other places and populated the country."

"I'm telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now," he added.

Ultimately, time will soon tell if Corenswet's chiseled looks and Gunn's directorial vision will be the superpowers that DC Studios need -- or prove to be its Kryptonite.