Gwen Stefani ‘s solo comeback is a total surprise to Gwen Stefani. In fact, so many things in the past year of the superstar’s life have been unexpected. The baby, her infant son Apollo; The Voice , the TV singing competition show that she credits with changing her life; and the return to an individual music career, something she publicly said she was done pursuing — end stop — back in 2010. “I didn’t know I was going to be doing another record. I always thought those two [solo] records would be back in the day,” Gwen said just a few short hours before she surprised crowds at Friday night’s Jingle Ball in LA, taking the stage with her longtime collaborator and Voice cohost Pharrell Williams.