Gwen Stefani and her band No Doubt gave us a new appreciation for “Sunday Mornings.” She gave us a nice way to say shut up and kiss me (“Don’t Speak”). She gave us a new anthem for feminism (“I’m Just A Girl”). She gave us a song to play loudly after slamming the door in the faces of our parents (“It’s My Life).

Gwen Stefani is the “it” girl who stayed outside the paparazzi whirlwind. She maintained a public persona without becoming a club-hopping water cooler joke.

Taking the riskier road, a well traveled one but one laden with the lifeless bodies of those who couldn’t make it alone, Stefani went solo and released bubble gum pop electric — literally.

Leaving the live band behind, she used studio magic and self-penned lyrics to tap directly into the teenage female psyche with her solo album Love Angel Music Baby. In “Rich Girl” she fantasized about what it would be like to have a lot of money — that must have been a stretch of the old imagination! She captured the estrogen/angst-empowered teenage girl/warrior spirit in “Hollaback Girl.” Contrived? Yes, probably, but I’m not so naïve as to blame her for it. She’s in the business of selling albums, and its no crime to give your audience what they want.

Word is Stefani will soon return to the No Doubt fold. The band that made her famous is reuniting for a new album that they are working on in her absence while she completes her tour. Catch her this Saturday at White River Amphitheater.

[White River Amphitheatre, with Akon and Lady Sovereign, Saturday, June 16, 8 p.m., $19.50-$69.50 at Ticketmaster, Auburn, 360.825.6200]