Song of the Week: "Cool" by Gwen Stefani

It’s been a wild week for exes

Renee Nuevo

January 21, 2020, 11:58 AM

Welcome to Song of the Week, Metro.Style Culture’s new weekly series where we bring you one song every Tuesday—complete with history, the best scenarios to play them in, and what to listen to next if you liked it.

“Cool,” Gwen Stefani

It’s been a wild week for exes.

Last Monday, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt reunited at the SAG Awards and the whole world sighed; a day after that, James Reid and Nadine Lustre released a joint statement about their breakup and the entire country’s hearts broke. Today, we’re listening to “Cool” by Gwen Stefani as we imagine what might’ve been going through Jen and Brad’s heads backstage at the SAGs. That lingering hand hold caught perfectly on camera. We’re still sighing deeply.

“Cool” is from Gwen’s debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., released in 2004. Written in 15 minutes, “Cool” “reflects Stefani’s former relationship with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal,” according to MTV News and Billboard. The song debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 76. It’s critically acclaimed and still beloved until now, with the song having been streamed 45 million times on Spotify.

If you liked “Cool,” or are still grieving JaDine’s relationship, listen to Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.”