Gwen Stefani attends the world premiere of the Warner Bros. release "Constantine" on Feb. 16, 2005, held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

Gwen Stefani attends the world premiere of the Warner Bros. release “Constantine” on Feb. 16, 2005, held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Credit: Courtesy of TNS

She’s old enough to be my mom, but she still has a major cool factor. At 45 years old, it’s crazy to think that Gwen Stefani has been an it girl for more than 20 years, and is still going strong.

Earlier this week, Stefani released a brand new single, “Baby Don’t Lie.” It’s her first song as a solo artist since “The Sweet Escape” album in 2006. The song is heavy on the synth and drums and features her unique vocals hovering over the track. I dare you not to at least nod along to this one. She’s even released a music video for this song, featuring a fantasy electronic world, which is pretty cool if you can overlook the promotional plugs.

Though not officially released yet, she also previewed another song “Spark the Fire” on a Los Angeles radio station Monday. This is a brilliant move to get the fans excited for more music, and the snippet did not disappoint. She allegedly partnered with co-judge of “The Voice” Pharrell Williams to produce the track that sounds like the Gwen we all know and love, and features some rapping reminiscent of “Hollaback Girl.”

Gwen Stefani has been one busy woman in recent times. Over the past year, she has been focusing on her fashion line, L.A.M.B., and even brought it back to New York Fashion Week this fall after a three-year hiatus.

She served as a coach on the most recent season of “The Voice,” and she’s said that helping aspiring artists inspired her to make music of her own, and said in a recent interview she was thinking about making music solo as well as with No Doubt.

No Doubt has some great songs and is responsible for putting Gwen on the map, but I much prefer her solo projects to the most recent No Doubt album. If her new project comes from the same place as “The Sweet Escape” or “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.,” I think we all have reason to be excited. With what she has released so far, I anticipate a solo album in the future, but if you’re a No Doubt fan, I wouldn’t give up just yet.

Aside from her public life, Gwen had a major event in her personal life this year. Her third son, Apollo, was born in February, joining her two older sons, Kingston (8), and Zuma (6).

In Pharrell’s words, “She’s killing it.” And I couldn’t agree more. Gwen won’t be returning to coach “The Voice” next season, but being on the show has given her a launchpad for new projects. Not being a judge next season will give her time to work on this album, and hopefully we will see a release (and subsequent tour!) soon.

In conclusion, Gwen Stefani has to be the coolest 45-year-old I know of.