No Doubt kicked off their Las Vegas residency at Sphere with 21 songs, including some not performed in decades
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The band utilized Sphere's immersive technology, featuring themed visuals like sea creatures and foam oranges falling from the ceiling
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This marks No Doubt's first multi-date residency in 14 years, with 18 shows planned due to high demand
Welcome back to the stage, No Doubt!On Wednesday night, the iconic Orange County, Calif., bandkicked off their Las Vegas residency showat Sphere, bringing soul, ska and a whole lot of nostalgia to the all-encompassing venue.Over the course of two hours,Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal,Tom Dumontand Adrian Young ripped through 21 songs, including several that haven’t been performed live in decades. "The Climb," for instance, from 1995's definitiveTragic Kingdom, hadn’t been performed 29 years before the show."I’m getting a little emotional up here," Stefani told the screaming crowd, many of whom stopped into the No Doubt Experience, an immersive pop-up at Venetian chronicling the group’s history with memorabilia.Performing atop a checkerboard stage, No Doubt naturally played hits such as "Spiderwebs," "Hella Good" and "Sunday Morning." They also utilized the Sphere's technology, performing "Underneath It All" against a backdrop of the sea and sea creatures very reminiscent ofThe Little Mermaid, likely an homage to their Anaheim, Calif., roots, where Disneyland is located.
As they played "Tragic Kingdom" for the first time since 2009, a theme park was projected onto the screen behind them, making guests feel as though they were riding a roller coaster — even the seats rattled! During a poignant performance of "Don’t Speak,” the background cut to a grove of shaking orange trees, the cue for foam oranges to fall from the Sphere’s roof onto the crowd, many of whom dressed like Stefani.Stefani, 56, also brought several super fans onstage at various points, including during "Just a Girl.""I wrote this song out of pure innocence in a time where I was just becoming aware of myself and my surroundings,:" she said of "Just a Girl." "But I always thought that I would be like ... I would grow up too much to sing it and it would be out of style, but you tell me if you think it's still relevant or stylish or? It's up to you guys."Naturally, the crowd’s response told Stefani that the song still held up after 31 years."It's crazy just thinking about it. All those years we just keep coming back to see you guys, and now you're here to see us again, and this is this crazy exchange of love that just never ends, and I'm just so grateful," she said.
Throughout the show, the "Happy Now?" hitmakers leaned into their history. Prior to the show, promotional fliers from past shows lined the Sphere screens, and the band members recorded multiple vignettes that played during the show."You know what's so strange is, I don't have a memory of, 'Wow, we're No. 1,'" Stefani said in a vignette, as the group spoke about their success. The band also spoke candidly about Stefani and Kanal’s seven-year relationship and their ensuing breakup."Being in No Doubt has been an incredible journey," Stefani said in a video flashed on the screen, "but originally, the songs were written from a lot of pain. I was doing it because it was just coming out of me, this natural way of healing myself."She added, "I was never consciously writing these songs thinking, ‘Oh, someone's going to relate to this,’ or it would help somebody. I was writing these songs to express what I was feeling, kind of writing for Tony."Kanal, 55, said, "I remember when she was first showing me some of the lyrics she wrote after our breakup. They were heavy, but I understood for her it was a catharsis."
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Although the iconic band has reunited for one-off performancesin 2024 at Coachellaand in 2025 at the FireAid benefit concert, this marks the first time in 14 years that Stefani, Kanal, Dumont and Young will perform multiple dates. They’ve not released an album since 2012’sPush and Shove.Initially, No Doubt planned for six shows, but more concerts were added due to demand. Wednesday’s show marked the first of 18 concerts at the 20,000-capacity Sphere.Stefani is no stranger to Vegas, having had herJust a Girl solo residencyat Planet Hollywood from 2018 to 2021. Over 200,000 guests attended the 57 shows. At Sphere, she’s the first female headliner since the venue opened in 2023.
Stefani and Co.'s residency coincides with her husbandBlake Shelton’s residency, taking place a mile away at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum. Sheltonpreviously quippedthat household bragging rights would be on the line due to their dueling performances."That'll be interesting because I'll be in direct competition with my wife," he told PEOPLE in January. "I'm excited about that because I know there'll be probably a little bit of trash talking."He joked that it wouldn't be a "friendly competition" between them, laughing, "Yeah, it’s not very friendly when it's absolute ass-kicking."
When the day finally came, however, Shelton became a softie. Ahead of the show, Stefani shared a video from her dressing room on her Instagram Stories of a large bouquet of pink roses. She then flashed the card, which read, "Good Luck Pretty Girl! I Love You! Love - Blake." "I have the best husband," she said.
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