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The Harajuku Lovers Tour was the first solo concert tour of American recording artist
Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...
. The tour began through October to December 2005, to support of her debut studio album '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Although Stefani embarked on multiple tours with her band
No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
, she initially opted not to participate in a tour to promote her album, an attitude that the singer eventually abandoned due to the commercial success of ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' The tour consisted of only one leg, which encompassed a three-month-long series of performances that visited cities throughout the United States and Canada. Stefani recruited hip hop group
The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
, rapper M.I.A., and singer
Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...
to accompany her as opening acts for her endeavors. The tour produced varying responses from contemporary critics, who despite praising Stefani's vocals, were critical of other aspects of the show such as its musical material. A video album, titled ''
Harajuku Lovers Live ''Harajuku Lovers Live'' is the first live long-form video by American recording artist Gwen Stefani. It was released on DVD on December 4, 2006, by Interscope Records. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller and produced by Oil Factory Productions ...
'', was released in DVD format in conjunction with her 2006 album ''
The Sweet Escape ''The Sweet Escape'' is the second studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby. ...
'' and features the singer performing at the
Arrowhead Pond The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, i ...
in
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, Stefani's birthplace. According to ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', the tour grossed $22 million from 37 concerts, from which 20 sold-out.


Background

Stefani announced a tour to support her first solo studio album '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004) on June 27, 2005, giving details of sixteen dates from October 16 to November 10. The announcement on June 27 also included the fact that hip hop group
The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
, who are also signed to Interscope Records, would be the opening act for all the announced dates except November 3. The group, who were backing their album '' Monkey Business'', ended up touring with Stefani until November 14. On August 8, it was announced that singer-songwriter and rapper M.I.A. would take over as the opening act from November 16 to November 25, although it wasn't until August 17 that the extra dates from November 11 to November 25 were officially added to the tour. M.I.A. toured with Stefani, backing her album ''
Arular ''Arular'' is the debut studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 22 March 2005 in the United States, and one month later in the United Kingdom, with a slightly different track listing. In 2004, the album's release was ...
'', until December 1. On September 29, the final set of dates, November 26 to December 21, were added to the tour and it was announced that the third and final opening act for Stefani's tour would be singer
Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...
, backing her album '' Goodies'', from December 3 to December 21. Stefani initially did not intend to tour to support the album, responding "What tour?" to a question from
MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
in December 2004 regarding a possible tour. She later mentioned several times that she had not originally intended to tour in support of the album, referring to her "illegal tour" and apologizing for her breaking her promise not to tour on stage at the
Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center (also known as "The X") is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four ...
in
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
on November 14 and admitting "I just wanted to make a record. I didn't want to tour, I was too tired, then you guys kept buying the record, and I had to come out and see you guys" on stage at
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
on November 16. In a September interview with
MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
, Stefani said of the tour: "I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be unbelievable. ..I would love to try to roll a little bit of 'Orange County Girl' in there. We'll see. Anything can happen in rehearsals. I don't even know how long the show can be right now."


Concert synopsis

Stefani opened the show with the song "
Harajuku Girls The Harajuku Girls are four Japanese and Japanese-American backup dancers featured in stage shows and music videos for Gwen Stefani during her solo pop/ dance-record career. The women also act as an entourage at Stefani's public appearances. The ...
", an ode to
Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...
, the fashion district of
Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. She appeared on stage wearing a tiara and baby doll outfit, sitting in the red velvet and gold throne from the cover of the album. and surrounded by her backing dancers, also called the
Harajuku Girls The Harajuku Girls are four Japanese and Japanese-American backup dancers featured in stage shows and music videos for Gwen Stefani during her solo pop/ dance-record career. The women also act as an entourage at Stefani's public appearances. The ...
, while video images of Harajuku itself played on screens behind her. Her second song was the first single from the album, "
What You Waiting For? "What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's ...
", which she began as a ballad before bringing it up to its usual pace. Stefani and the Harajuku Girls then left the stage to change into one-piece bathing suits while her band continued to play, before returning to perform "
The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...
". A group of four
breakdancers Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...
came on stage to perform while Stefani left the stage again to change into a black-and-white leather tracksuit. For the next song, the album's sixth single "
Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...
", the audience was then divided into male and female halves and, as images of a car hood bouncing to the beat were broadcast, each half took turns to sing the lyric "back it up, back it up". Stefani then performed the fourth single from the album, "
Luxurious "Luxurious" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Written by Stefani and fellow No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal, the track contains a sample of the Isley B ...
". Stefani changed outfits again into a pair of black hot pants to perform " Rich Girl", the album's second single, while walking along a catwalk into the crowd and giving fans high-fives. She then sang "Danger Zone" and " Long Way to Go", both intimate songs, before performing two new songs back-to-back: " Wind It Up", which would become the first single from her second album ''
The Sweet Escape ''The Sweet Escape'' is the second studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby. ...
'', and "Orange County Girl". "Wind It Up" was performed with a carnival vibe and "Orange County Girl" was accompanied by a video montage of childhood photos of Stefani and images of items mentioned in the song. She changed into a silver sequinned cocktail dress for the fourth single from her first album, "
Cool Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
". In early performances of the show, Stefani's next song was "
Hollaback Girl "Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). It is a Hip hop music, hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s in music, 1980s hip hop, hip-hop a ...
", the album's third and best-selling single, performed in a drumming costume and singing with the audience. This was followed by an encore of "
Serious Serious may refer to: * Seriousness, an attitude of gravity, solemnity, persistence, or earnestness * ''Serious'' (TV series), a BBC children's television show Albums * ''Serious'' (Luther Allison album) or the title song, 1987 * ''Serious'' ( ...
" and "Bubble Pop Electric", for which Stefani was brought out in a stretcher by the Harajuku Girls. However, in later performances, "Hollaback Girl" was saved for the encore and preceded by the two other songs.


Critical response

Critics were divided with the Harajuku Lovers Tour. Patrick MacDonald of the ''
Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...
'', while applauding Stefani's song-writing efforts and the show's "frothy fun" antics, reprimanded the singer's dancing and limited material, given that she performed only twelve songs from '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' and two from ''
The Sweet Escape ''The Sweet Escape'' is the second studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby. ...
'' but none from previous work with her band
No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
. In regards to the musical selection, MacDonald concluded that half the songs are "eminently forgettable", a view echoed by ''
Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its acquisition of Sun Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun tabloids, including an emphasis on local news sto ...
'' columnist Rob Williams, who described some of the album tracks as "filler". Despite these objections, Williams issued her MTS Center performance a three-and-a-half out of five stars. "But sometimes the music didn't matter when there was as much eye candy as Stefani provided", opined the ''Winnipeg Sun'' writer. "She is an extremely striking figure and the choreography, light show, backup dancers and frequent costume changes all added to the spectacle, which ended up being more style than substance." Mike Ross of the ''
Edmonton Sun The ''Edmonton Sun'' is a daily newspaper and news website published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its 2015 acquisition of Sun Media from Quebecor. It began publishing Sunday April 2, 1978 and shares many cha ...
'' was impressed with Stefani's ability to engage the audience, a quality that earned her the description of the "effervescent hostess" from the journalist. In his four star review for the concert, he commended the "swell" music and "amazing" choreography; "It also had merit as a choreographic tour-de-force—thanks in large part to a quartet each of talented dancing geisha girls and B-boys", remarked Ross. Stefani's different outfits and set pieces also won praise. "So you could have enjoyed last night's concert as a fashion show. Or a music video, sure", Ross concluded. Although she called Stefani the "new princess of pop" and praised the singer's charismatic presence during the show, Jane Stevenson of the ''
Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
'' felt that the concert was "definitely of the lightweight variety in the music department" and noted that, although Stefani models herself after
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, she is "no real threat". She gave the concert three-and-a-half stars out of five.
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's Corey Moss compared Stefani's performance to Madonna with regard to "the eight costume changes to the dancers to the theatrics to, hell, even the music itself" and avouched that she sounded completely different from how she did with No Doubt. Moss asserted that the No Doubt lead vocalist was the "most captivating thing onstage" with her "confident strut and dead-on vocals". Jon Pareles of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' admired the "glamour and groove" antics of the show and how Stefani "flaunt dthe perks of stardom". He praised her music, describing the album as "a smart ecord with honed rhythm tracks that flit from funk to pop, electronics to rock", although calling most tracks "superficial", being about "style", "success", "shopping" and "sex". Jim Harrison of ''
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'' affirmed that the tour lacked a strong musical setlist, and also felt that Stefani's stage presence was absent. He stated that she "doesn't have many songs that translate well in a live setting" from her album ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' and suggested that she should have included songs by No Doubt for "much-needed shots of adrenaline" for the audience, who were, according to Harrison, "figuratively sitting on their hands and literally yawning four songs into the set". Harrison felt that Stefani seemed truly "lost on stage without a band", ultimately describing her performance as " acking inenergy", "lukewarm" and seemingly "on autopilot". Furthermore, the SoundSpike writer thought that her performance was akin to that of fellow American recording artist
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
, which was "utterly unsuitable for both the song selection and her style". However, he did praise the rendition of "Hollaback Girl", calling it "great" and "Gwen being all Gwen can be", and called the breakdancing "pretty cool".


Broadcast and recordings

Stefani's performance in late November 2005 in her home town of
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
was recorded and released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
as a video album ''
Harajuku Lovers Live ''Harajuku Lovers Live'' is the first live long-form video by American recording artist Gwen Stefani. It was released on DVD on December 4, 2006, by Interscope Records. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller and produced by Oil Factory Productions ...
''. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller. The concert features performances of all twelve songs from ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' and two new songs from her second studio album, ''The Sweet Escape'', as well as interviews with the musicians and dancers and a documentary of tour preparation. The DVD received similar mixed reviews to the concerts themselves. Reviewers praised Stefani's musical performances and stage presence, but criticizing the lack of material and the long costume changes. The DVD was certified gold in Australia by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
and platinum in Canada by the
Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
.


Personnel


Band

*
Zachary Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contrib ...
- Drums *
Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...
- Bass, Guitar *
Gabrial McNair Gabrial McNair (born September 8, 1973) is a musician and composer, most famous for his work in No Doubt since 1993 as a trombonist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist. He recorded and toured with Green Day during the ''Nimrod'' and '' Warning'' t ...
- Keyboards *
Kristopher Pooley Kristopher Michael Pooley (born October 30, 1976) is an American rock musician from Detroit. He toured with Gwen Stefani as her keyboardist, programmer, and musical director. He is also the music director for Katy Perry, Kesha, Demi Lovato ...
- Keyboards, Musical Director


Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on October 21, 2005, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour. #"Harajuku Girls" #"
What You Waiting For? "What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's ...
" #"
The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...
" #"
Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...
" #"
Luxurious "Luxurious" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Written by Stefani and fellow No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal, the track contains a sample of the Isley B ...
" #" Rich Girl" #"Danger Zone" #" Long Way to Go" #" Wind It Up" #"Orange County Girl" #"
Cool Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
" #"
Serious Serious may refer to: * Seriousness, an attitude of gravity, solemnity, persistence, or earnestness * ''Serious'' (TV series), a BBC children's television show Albums * ''Serious'' (Luther Allison album) or the title song, 1987 * ''Serious'' ( ...
" #"Bubble Pop Electric" #"
Hollaback Girl "Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, ''Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). It is a Hip hop music, hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s in music, 1980s hip hop, hip-hop a ...
" Notes
During the later half of the tour, Stefani performed "Hollaback Girl" as the final song of the concert.


Tour dates


Notes


References

{{Gwen Stefani 2005 concert tours Gwen Stefani concert tours