OMG, OMG! Gwen Stefani is back again. Nearly 10 years after topping the charts with “Hollaback Girl,” the No Doubt frontwoman reunites with Pharrell Williams in the playful video for “Spark the Fire.” In the animated clip, directed by Sophie Muller (“Baby Don’t Lie”), Gwen dances in an underground club while emojis pop up on screen.
“It’s kind of a clash of this punk rock, kind of old-school feeling, club feeling,” Gwen told ABC News, “but [with] this really modern emoji world, and it just looks really cool together.”
On Monday night, she and Pharrell performed the song for the first time on “The Voice.” As her fellow coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton looked on, Gwen descended onto the stage on a life-sized emoji while text bubbles spelled out the lyrics on a screen behind her.
Pharrell, clad in a blue adidas jumpsuit, joined her holding a sparkler, while the crowd held up glow sticks.
“I feel like the female species has been suppressed long enough,” said Pharrell, who produced 2005’s “Hollaback Girl.” “We owe them a lot more respect and ‘Spark the Fire’ is kinda like Gwen saying, ‘Enough’s enough. Who’s got the lighter? Let’s spark the fire.'”
Gwen’s first solo album in eight years drops early next year.