Different People

After frontman Eric Stefani left No Doubt in 1994, his co-vocalist sister, Gwen, took over as the lead singer. Her brother had been the principal songwriter as well, so even though Gwen had never been particularly musical, she and the rest of the band needed to come up with some tunes. This slice of ska/pop was the first song Gwen Stefani ever wrote. The singer told The Daily Telegraph November 27, 2012 that the moment she started writing, she became a different person. "Before that, there was nothing I was good at, and, all of a sudden, here was something I felt really passionate about," she said. "I remember my dad listening to the first songs we recorded on his way into work and him saying, 'This is really good. You need to keep doing it.'"

A lot of the lyrics on the Tragic Kingdom were informed by Gwen Stefani's breakup with the band's bass player, Tony Kanal, but not this one. The song is a celebration of the wide range of people who come together in a natural world filled with wonders.

This fast-paced celebration of human diversity is apparently one of President Barack Obama's favorite songs. "How bizarre is that?" said Stefani to The Daily Telegraph. "The first song I wrote - which, when I read the lyrics today, seems so naive and young - and it ends up being one of the President's favorites."