Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	C+
Entertainment Weekly	A−
The Guardian
NME	3/5
Pitchfork Media	5.9/10
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Spin	5/10
USA Today

This Is What the Truth Feels Like is the third studio album recorded by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani. It was released on March 18, 2016 by Interscope Records. Initially, the album was scheduled to be released in December 2014 with Stefani working with a handful of high-profile producers, with Benny Blanco serving as executive producer. However, after the underperformance of her 2014 singles and the writer's block Stefani suffered, she did not feel right to curate an album and scrapped the whole record in favor of starting again. The album's release was scheduled after Stefani hinted at it on her Twitter account.

Inspired by the end of her marriage and the various emotions she experienced during the time, which also included a new romantic relationship, Stefani returned to writing new songs. 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 whole album in a few months and described it as a "breakup record", with the songs having a "sarcastic" and dark-humor vibe, in addition to being real, joyful, and happy. The album's themes revolve around betrayal and disappointment, as well as moving on from a broken relationship and falling in love again. Musically This Is What the Truth Feels Like is a pop album that is similar to the music on Stefani's previous studio albums. The record also contains a guest appearance by rapper Fetty Wap.

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised its honest and vulnerable nature and considered her most personal solo album. However, some critics thought the album was too "calculated" and did not capture the essence of a "breakup album" by lacking a clear focus. The album's official lead single, "Used to Love You", was released on October 20, 2015, to a positive response from critics and a moderate impact on the charts. Its second single, "Make Me Like You", was released on February 12, 2016, also receiving similar reception. The corresponding music video was the first video to be created live on television, and was broadcast during a commercial break for the 2016 Grammy Awards. "Misery", was originally issued as a promotional single before being released as the album's third single on May 23, 2016. Commercially, the album was moderately successful, becoming Stefani's first number one on the Billboard 200; in several other major music markets, it peaked within the top 40 of the charts. To further promote the album, Stefani embarked on her This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour with rapper Eve in North America and headlined the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre Final Shows with opening act Young the Giant.

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Wikipedia