Gwen Stefani: 'Prince told me to write hits'

Gwen Stefani has insisted that she is driven to writing songs which will have mass appeal.

The singer, who has fronted No Doubt for more than two decades, told Elle magazine that she has no pretensions when it comes to crafting a popular hit.

"Why wouldn't you want that many people listening to the songs that you wrote? There's no way to go back after you have had it," Stefani said. "So the intentions of even the solo records were always about trying to write those guilty-pleasure albums that just get in your head and you can't get out. I'm not cool, I'm not into the B-sides."

The 'Sweet Escape' star also revealed that she was once given some very valuable advice from legendary popstar Prince.

She explained: "Prince, who is one of my idols, gave me some advice when I worked with him, 'Have you ever just tried writing a hit? Like, don't just try writing a song, try and write a hit song'. I remember him saying that and me thinking, 'Yeah, you're right. Why would you write anything else?'"

Stefani has notched up eight US top 40 singles including the No. 1 hit 'Don't Speak' with her band No Doubt, while also releasing a series of successful solo tracks.

The star recently disclosed that she can be "very vain" at times.

> Stefani: 'No Doubt album to take a while'

Watch Gwen Stefani's music video for 'The Sweet Escape' below: