However, after the underperformance of her 2014 singles and the writer's block Stefani suffered, she did not feel comfortable curating an album and scrapped the whole record in favor of starting again.

With the help of producers J.R. Rotem, Mattman & Robin, and Greg Kurstin, as well as songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels, Stefani wrote the album in a few months.

"[3] In the same month, Stefani's manager Irving Azoff confirmed she was finishing the record with Williams, as well as planning to perform its lead single live on The Voice.

[26] In the early stages, she also wrote a song with Linda Perry called "Medicine Man" while flying to No Doubt's Jazz Festival show in New Orleans.

[34] She kept the news of her divorce hidden from her writing and production teams during the recording sessions, however, Stefani "suspect[ed] her collaborators knew she was in crisis because of her lyrics".

[35] This Is What the Truth Feels Like features a range of genres; including pop,[1] reggae,[38][39] disco and dancehall,[40] R&B, hip hop and "punky" electro-pop music.

[41] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly viewed it as "an album so directly torn from Stefani's recent, much-documented romantic upheavals that it could be called 'The Ballad of Blake and Gavin'".

[38] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic added that: "Stefani spends roughly half of the record singing breezy songs of liberation.

"[42] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented: "While an artist converting personal tragedy into creative capital is hardly new, the nakedness with which Stefani assesses the ruins of her relationship is stark, especially compared to the self-proclaimed guilty pleasures of Love.

[34] The album's second single, "Make Me Like You", is a pop and disco song,[39][43] written by Stefani, Tranter, Michaels, Mattias Larsson, and Robin Fredikkson.

[31] In an interview with Today's Matt Lauer, Stefani confirmed that the track was inspired by the end of her marriage, and claimed that the song was only written a few weeks before its release.

[58] The seventh track, "Send Me a Picture", has dancehall elements,[40] and was described as a sexting ode by several publications;[1][59] furthermore, Mapes stated the song has a "Bieber-hits-the-islands vibe", while Annie Zaleski of The A.V.

[69] The international edition of the album features bonus track "Loveable", while Japan-exclusive "War Paint" is a tribal song,[71] with a critic from Est.

[81] The cover features a close-up shot of Stefani with "hand drawn hearts, tears and flowers", which according to Carolyn Menyes of Music Times, "giv[es] the record a sense of femininity and raw emotion".

[83] Regarding the deluxe edition cover of the album, Christina Marfice from SheKnows Media speculated that it "includes a secret dis aimed at" her ex-husband; she stated: "And, in the corner, a ring drawn on her finger with a frowny face [is] connected to it by an arrow.

[84] Prior to the release of Shelton's tenth studio album, If I'm Honest (2016), several publications compared the cover to Stefani's,[85] with Maeve McDermott of USA Today calling them "eerily similar".

[101][102] She wore torn jeans and a high-waisted top, and was accompanied by several backup singers, including No Doubt touring members Gabrial McNair and Stephen Bradley.

[105] For that show, she performed "Make Me Like You" and "Misery" from the parent album, in addition to earlier solo singles "The Sweet Escape" and "Hollaback Girl".

It consists in a single shot of Stefani in a white tank top, blue brassiere and gold necklace on a black background, emoting, and occasionally mouthing some of the song's words.

[140] Prior to the news of the closure, City of Irvine officials discussed continuing the expansion of a local apartment development, which would be built atop the site.

[38] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was very positive in his review, highlighting that "[h]er singing—and, more important, what her singing is saying—is always front and center, which gives the music an intimate quality even at its most polished".

[50] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine discussed its urban-leaning beats, saying: "It's easy to chastise aging pop stars for chasing trends or trying to recapture past glories, but those efforts here are thrown into sharp relief by the maturity of the album's first half.

[40] Kitty Empire of The Observer noted that the album gives emphasis on "bouncy, sonically unadventurous pop and fixated on Stefani's new relationship with Blake Shelton," but felt that: "A little more courage would not have gone amiss.

"[51] Rob Sheffield wrote for Rolling Stone that the album "has a rushed feel – a likable but low-personality version of her familiar bubble-pop solo mode".

However, Erlewine noted that despite the "moments of emotional bloodletting or thirsty appeals to the top of the charts," the album "manages to be as fleet, giddy, and charming as Gwen Stefani ever is".

[42] Patrick Ryan of USA Today felt that "[d]espite the album title and Stefani's refreshingly candid press tour, it's sometimes hard to believe this is what her truth actually sounds like.

"[39] Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork criticized the songs she perceived were tailor-made for Top 40 radio, calling them "unremarkable" saying they "fail to match the unique specificity of her early solo hits".

"[1] In a mixed review, Theon Weber of Spin commented, "[I]n creating a schism between her punkish pep and her new-wave nostalgia, it leaves the former stranded and the latter generic.

[172][173] During a midyear report of albums released in 2016, Entertainment Weekly critics ranked This Is What the Truth Feels Like at number 11; a selected review by Greenblatt reads: "Loves lost and found provide the twin poles for Stefani's gorgeously honest chronicle of a very complicated year—and inspired some of her most purely satisfying pop songs in years.

[176] Glamour listed it at number 18 out of the year's 20 best and wrote, "Stefani has never sounded more vulnerable than she does on This Is What the Truth Feels Like, a vivid assortment of urgent, top 40 goods".