Gwen Stefani sings ‘Tragic Kingdom’ throwback hit at CMT Awards

Gwen Stefani strummed the nostalgia cords at the Country Music Television Awards Sunday night in Austin, Texas, as the former No Doubt frontwoman took to the stage to perform the band’s 1995 classic hit ‘Just A Girl’.

Wait – what year is it?

The superstars belted out a modern, rocking rendition of No Doubt’s ‘I’m Just A Girl’, which lit up the audience — the crowd danced and sang, lifting their arms up like it was 1995.

‘Tragic Kingdom’ is one of the best-selling albums of its time, with hits like ‘Spiderwebs’ and ‘Don’t Speak’ defining its genre, and ‘Just a Girl’ making it to the Top 40 list, and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. No Doubt’s iconic album earned RIAA Diamond Certification.

Look out, Gwen Stefani takes the stage

After co-host Kelsea Ballerini announced a “scream-sing” opp for older generations in the crowd, Gwen Stefani took the center stage, a square platform positioned with fans swarming all around.

The ‘Spiderwebs’ singer wore a punk-chic white dress with red polka dots of various sizes and a red halter bandeau underneath, and her blonde hair piled high onto top of her head in a sleek, double-bun up do.

Stefani performs the song’s opening verse and chorus to an uproarious crowd, and was joined onstage by country singer Carly Pearce, wearing a simple all-black pants suit and jacket with a big bow on the side and her hair loose around her shoulders.

Pearce sang the second verse and the ladies performed the rest of the song together, trading off, line for line until the climactic, “ohhh, I’ve had it up to here” line, to which the audience cheered even more.

Notable CMT performers

Carly Pearce, who had already performed her country hit ‘What He Didn’t Do’ earlier that evening, was nominated for the Female Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year awards at the 2023 CMT Awards ceremony.

Also performing at the CMT Awards ceremony was Gwen Stefani’s husband, Blake Shelton, who sang his hit single, ‘No Body’.