Gwen Stefani Joins Catholic App For Upcoming ‘Prayer’ Marketing campaign

The most recent chapter in singer Gwen Stefani’s reinvention from pop queen to nation darling has the web feeling confused.

Earlier this week, the No Doubt frontwoman and spouse of Blake Shelton shocked followers by teaming up with the Catholic prayer cellular app, Hallow, for his or her upcoming vacation marketing campaign.

The Grammy-winning Stefani, 55, joins singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle, up to date Christian artist Matt Maher, and Nashville-based worship chief Sarah Kroger to steer the web problem for the cellular app.

Hallow defines the idea of the marketing campaign as a method to, “put together your coronary heart for Christmas and rediscover the surprise of Christ’s coming into this world and our [hearts].”

Stefani’s involvement within the Hallow marketing campaign is a stark juxtaposition to how many people have been first launched to the Orange County native within the late 90s. Although she has reportedly all the time embraced the Catholic religion, as ChurchPop famous, that is the primary a lot of her followers have witnessed the singer interact with it in such a public manner.

Weeks earlier than Stefani’s Hallow adverts have been promoted, the songstress started to show spiritual imagery on her social media accounts to her 18 million followers.

A screenshot taken from her Instagram Tales options what is named a “holy card” of Saint Cecilia, thought to be the patron saint of musicians.

Although Stefani didn’t add a caption to the picture, the message got here via crystal clear.

Likewise, a screenshot of a remark left by Gwen on a reel of a 2023 Eucharistic procession from The Napa Institute, a convention middle that “leverages liturgy, formation, and neighborhood to arrange leaders to carry fact, religion, and worth into the trendy world,” has been making the rounds on websites associated to the Catholic perception.

“Stunning and courageous,” Stefani acknowledged on the reel.

As social media started to catch wind of Stefani’s Hallow adverts, many acquainted with the corporate professed their ‘disappointment’ with the singer for becoming a member of forces with them.

One Threads person expressed that Hallow is commonly promoted by excessive proper figures equivalent to Michael Knowles of The Every day Wire.

“Hallow isn’t simply politically aligned—it’s a rip-off,” they wrote.

“The app places God’s grace behind a paywall, limiting entry to non secular content material except you fork over money. Religion shouldn’t include a subscription charge. Don’t use this app.”

One other person on Threads introduced up Stefani’s repeated issues with cultural appropriation and noticed her alignment with Hallow as simply the newest step in an already problematic profession.

“Actually, I am not shocked in any respect,” they wrote. “She constructed her profession on cultural appropriation, so being a spiritual [bigot] would not look like a stretch.”

One Twitter person requested, “Wait, Gwen Stefani is Catholic?,” after not too long ago studying of the singer’s shut ties to Catholicism.

To nobody’s shock, many on-line customers are pinning Gwen’s affiliation with Hallow and her sudden loud present of Catholicism on nation star Blake Shelton – however that will not be true.

A report famous again in July famous that whereas the “God’s Nation” performer was already Catholic earlier than assembly Gwen, Stefani was the one which “ignited” his present beliefs and never the opposite manner round.

“Their shared religion can be vital to them. Stefani — a religious Catholic — “was the one who ignited Blake’s spiritual beliefs,” a supply informed the publication.

“They go to church with the children and maintain the identical values. It’s a precedence for them.”

All this spiritual humdrum comes on the heels of Stefani’s first full-length nation effort, Bouquet, launched earlier this November.

Regardless of resorting to pushing the album via unconventional means, together with an look on the Dwelling Purchasing Community, the brand new set will debut subsequent week at No. 95 on the Billboard 200 album chart with simply 13,000 copies offered.

If true, this might make Bouquet Stefani’s lowest charting album of her profession, along with her earlier releases – 2004’s Love. Angel. Music. Child., 2006’s The Candy Escape, and 2016’s This Is What the Fact Feels Like – all debuting within the prime 10.

Stefani’s debut vacation set, You Make It Really feel Like Christmas, peaked at No. 51 in 2017.