Music
Olivia Rodrigo Gushed About Her Part In No Doubt’s 2024 Coachella Reunion
It was “the biggest honor” for Rodrigo.
Year in and year out, Coachella is full of surprises. It seems like every artist has a guest performer waiting in the wings to join them on stage and wow fans. In the first weekend of the 2024 festival alone, attendees were treated to unexpected cameos from Billie Eilish, Shakira, and A$AP Rocky, among others.
No Doubt got the memo. Though it was already a big deal for them to be reuniting for their first performance since 2015, the band’s gift kept giving when frontwoman Gwen Stefani brought out Olivia Rodrigo on April 13. Together, they performed No Doubt’s 2000 hit “Bathwater,” which came out three years before Rodrigo was born.
Sharing The Stage
As No Doubt transitioned between songs, Stefani told the mainstage crowd, “I love you.” Then she got right into it, announcing, “Ladies and gentlemen, Olivia Rodrigo!” Fans gave Rodrigo an enthusiastic welcome as she came out wearing a white tank top that read, “I [heart] ND.”
Stefani and Rodrigo traded verses during the high-energy performance, plus gave bassist Tony Kanal a share of the spotlight. They seemed to delight in their collaboration, and as the song wound down, they exchanged a hug and ran off the stage together. Later, Rodrigo shared what an “honor” it was on Instagram.
“bathwater is one of my favorite songs of all time,” Rodrigo wrote in one of her stories on April 14. “was the biggest honor to sing it with @nodoubt at @coachella last night!!! @gwenstefani is otherworldly.”
Stefani called the night “amazing” in her own story, and wrote to her fans, “thank u for coming to see @nodoubt at Coachella!!! 2024!!”
A Meeting Of Generations
Rodrigo reiterated how much she loves Stefani and No Doubt in an Instagram grid post after Coachella. “I remember hearing bathwater for the first time when I had just started writing songs,” she wrote on April 14. “it totally turned my world on its head and inspires me to this day. was the coolest honor to sing it with @nodoubt and @gwenstefani this weekend at @coachella !!!! they’re out of this world!!!!”
She missed No Doubt’s heyday, as many of the band’s biggest years were before her time. (They performed the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show in January 2003, and Rodrigo wasn’t even born until the following month.) However, she discovered their album Return of Saturn — which includes “Bathwater” — when she was 15, according to Nylon. She’s looked up to Stefani ever since.
“Gwen’s ability to evolve and explore different styles of music, songwriting, and aesthetic while still remaining true to herself is incredibly inspiring,” Rodrigo told Nylon. “To me, she’s a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes and preconceived boundaries and just makes stuff that she thinks is cool.”
