Kelly Clarkson inspired Gwen Stefani's musical comeback.

Gwen Stefani was inspired to make music by her showbiz pal

Gwen Stefani was inspired to make music by her showbiz pal

The 41-year-old pop star actually convinced Gwen, 54, to return to the studio amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflecting on her comeback, Gwen told the 'Audacy Check In' podcast: "The collaborations have always been my favourite and best [music]. But in this instance, I had been going down this whole road since 2020: I wanted to make music again.

"I had Kelly Clarkson, who I worked with on ‘The Voice,’ texting me all these demos of the songs she'd been writing during quarantine, and I was like, ‘But wait a minute. We're in quarantine. I'm doing homeschooling. I'm cleaning toilets. I'm trying to make three meals a day. I'm learning how to make sourdough like everybody else. And when are you writing these songs?’ I was so jealous. She was like, ‘I don't sleep.'"

Gwen and her husband Blake Shelton previously joined forces to record the duet 'Purple Irises'.

But the blonde beauty has admitted that the collaboration wasn't planned at all.

She said: "Blake was never supposed to be on this record. [‘Purple Irises’] was just a song I wrote, and then it just evolved into this.

"It just happens that Blake is [on] a break. He doesn't have anything out right now. So here we are. It's wild, guys."

The loved-up coupe tied the knot in 2021, and they actually enjoy singing together when they're at home.

Gwen - who was previously married to music star Gavin Rossdale - said: "I'm going to [sing] in the shower with Blake. We actually have [a] shower that has the two shower heads. That would be amazing."

Listen to Gwen's interview at: https://www.audacy.com/national/music/join-us-for-an-audacy-check-in-with-gwen-stefani