Gwen Stefani Wins the Houston Rodeo, Reveals Why Blake Wasn’t There and 9 Other Secrets in an Unforgettable Night

For her Houston Rodeo debut, Gwen Stefani brought a bit of Las Vegas glitter and glam to the NRG Stadium. Fresh off her Vegas residency, the multi Grammy Award winner and The Voice star dressed to rodeo impress, decked out in gold fringe and a sparkling Western shirt and skirt. She also brought along her full band and fab line of dancers to blaze into NRG Stadium and deliver a pop and rock show worth betting the house on.

With a long set of 16 songs that ran past the usual Rodeo hour concert limits, Stefani came to put her own California rock girl brand on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Yet, the concert also gave us some revealing glimpses into the real public and private life of Gwen Stefani.

These are some of Stefani secrets that were revealed:

1). Gwen Stefani is Her Own Best Commentator

Early on Stefani began a conversation with the 65,000-plus fans at NRG Stadium, telling some life stories and song backgrounds. Above all, she never let anyone forget how happy she was just to put on a show. Though she never let the concert chat get in the way of the music, Stefani loved to check in with her new best Houston friends.

2). Coming to Ride with Both No Doubt Fans and Solo Album Fans

The concert struck a perfect balance between Stefani’s No Doubt years and songs and highlights from her solo career. She opened with “The Sweet Escape” and made her rocking exit with “Hollaback Girl,” but along the musical journey gave left no doubt about her continued love of her first band hits like “Don’t Speak,” “Just a Girl,” “Spiderwebs,” “Hella Good” and the Talk Talk cover “It’s My Life.”

3). Stefani’s Songs Chronicle Real Love, Losses and Life

Segueing into “Ex-Girlfriend,” Stefani told the Rodeo crowd that sometimes she hates singing a song she wrote because she writes from her own life and relives the highs and lows with each rendition. She then dove head first into the emotions of the inevitable breakup rock-rager “Ex-Girlfriend,” treating it as a kind of dramatic monologue.

4). Don’t Wake Her If She’s Dreaming

Sure I might be paraphrasing a line from one of No Doubt’s greatest party-on songs “Hella Good,” but Stefani sometimes acted like her concert was a personal Rodeo dream too good to be true. She looked upon the crowd with wonder several times, saying: “I’m actually in Houston at the Rodeo” and “I have to pinch myself. This is my life.”

5). Gwen Stefani is Still Not Over the Lost Rodeo Concert

Much of Stefani’s disbelief that so many came to party with her at the Houston Rodeo seemed to stem from the fact her original RodeoHouston stage debut should have happened in 2020, but COVID shuttered the mega event about a week before her show. Throughout this Tuesday night, Stefani told the crowd what a long two-year wait she had, but Houston proved to be worth the wait.

6). Stefani Likes To Do It in the Dark

Dramatic song openings and closings that is. The stage and stadium lights went out and then back on almost every other song during Stefani’s concert, making for some of the most dramatic light staging we’ve seen at the RodeoHouston in a while.

7). Why Walk When You Can Skip?

Stefani took her white cowgirl boots for quite a workout skipping, running — and on one occasion pulling off a ’90s running-man move — across the stage throughout the concert. Always in a hurry to get where she was going, Stefani usually ended up at one of the points of the star-shaped RodeoHouston stage to call out to the audience.

8). Stefani Loves a Good Duet

The 65,561 fans at NRG became Stefani’s singing partners as she urged everyone to sing along and held her mike out to the cheering, dancing crowd. Song after song.

9). Blake’s a Fine Stepfather

I’ll admit it. I did have secret hope that Houston Rodeo king Blake Shelton (aka Mr. Gwen Stefani) might make a surprise appearance. He didn’t. And while Stefani said she felt terrible he couldn’t tag along, it turns out he stayed home with the kids so Stefani could take care of some business. Rodeo show business.

10). Gwen Stefani Will Not Go Quietly

Of course, Stefani would make “Hollaback Girl” the ultimate finale, somehow turning such a California-cool song into a urban chic hoedown. Her dancers even squared into a bit of two-stepping. But just when everyone thought the show had to wind down, Stefani and a few of her dancers left the rest of the band on stage, jumped into the back of her exit truck (no SUV for this pop and rock star cowgirl) and just kept on singing.

And the dancers just kept on dancing as the truck circled the dirt floor and then rolled out of our sight. Stefani’s final words echoed across the stadium as a jubilant “WOOO! I love you. Bye, Bye Texas.” Knowing Gwen as I now do, I think she might still be backstage serenading the partying bulls, broncos and lambs.

You might be “Just a Girl,” Gwen, but you’re our Houston Rodeo Girl now. Come on back anytime.