Гвен Стефани: Harajuku Lovers туры

2005 concert tour by Gwen Stefani

The Harajuku Lovers Tour was the first solo concert tour of American recording artist Gwen Stefani. The tour began through October to December 2005, to support of her debut studio album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Although Stefani embarked on multiple tours with her band No Doubt, she initially opted not to participate in a tour to promote her album, an attitude that the singer eventually abandoned due to the commercial success of Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The tour consisted of only one leg, which encompassed a three month long series of performances that visited cities throughout the United States and Canada. Stefani recruited hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, rapper M. I. A., and singer Ciara to accompany her as opening acts for her endeavors. The tour produced varying responses from contemporary critics, who despite praising Stefani's vocals, were critical of other aspects of the show such as its musical material. A video album, titled Harajuku Lovers Live, was released in DVD format in conjunction with her 2006 album The Sweet Escape and features the singer performing at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, Stefani's birthplace. According to Billboard, the tour grossed $22 million from 37 concerts, from which 20 sold out.

Stefani announced a tour to support her first solo studio album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004) on June 27, 2005, giving details of sixteen dates from October 16 to November 10. The announcement on June 27 also included the fact that hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, who are also signed to Interscope Records, would be the opening act for all the announced dates except November 3. M. I. A. toured with Stefani, backing her album Arular, until December 1. and admitting "I just wanted to make a record. I didn't want to tour, I was too tired, then you guys kept buying the record, and I had to come out and see you guys" on stage at Winnipeg on November 16.

Stefani opened the show with the song "Harajuku Girls", an ode to Harajuku, the fashion district of Tokyo, Japan. In regards to the musical selection, MacDonald concluded that half the songs are "eminently forgettable", "But sometimes the music didn't matter when there was as much eye candy as Stefani provided", opined the Winnipeg Sun writer. "She is an extremely striking figure and the choreography, light show, backup dancers and frequent costume changes all added to the spectacle, which ended up being more style than substance." Although she called Stefani the "new princess of pop" and praised the singer's charismatic presence during the show, Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun felt that the concert was "definitely of the lightweight variety in the music department" and noted that, although Stefani models herself after Madonna, she is "no real threat". She gave the concert three and a half stars out of five. MTV's Corey Moss compared Stefani's performance to Madonna with regard to "the eight costume changes to the dancers to the theatrics to, hell, even the music itself" and avouched that she sounded completely different from how she did with No Doubt. Moss asserted that the No Doubt lead vocalist was the "most captivating thing onstage" with her "confident strut and dead on vocals". Jon Pareles of The New York Times admired the "glamour and groove" antics of the show and how Stefani "flaunt[ed] the perks of stardom". He praised her music, describing the album as "a smart [record], with honed rhythm tracks that flit from funk to pop, electronics to rock", although calling most tracks "superficial", being about "style", "success", "shopping" and "sex". Jim Harrison of LiveDaily affirmed that the tour lacked a strong musical setlist, and also felt that Stefani's stage presence was absent. He stated that she "doesn't have many songs that translate well in a live setting" from her album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and suggested that she should have included songs by No Doubt for "much needed shots of adrenaline" for the audience, who were, according to Harrison, "figuratively sitting on their hands and literally yawning four songs into the set".

Stefani's performance in late November 2005 in her home town of Anaheim, California was recorded and released on DVD as a video album Harajuku Lovers Live. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller. The concert features performances of all twelve songs from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and two new songs from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape, as well as interviews with the musicians and dancers and a documentary of tour preparation. The DVD received similar mixed reviews to the concerts themselves. Reviewers praised Stefani's musical performances and stage presence, but criticizing the lack of material and the long costume changes. The DVD was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association and platinum in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association.