An admitted The Sound of Music fanatic, Stefani's new song opens with the blond frontwoman of the group No Doubt yodeling a portion of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical's "Lonely Goatherd."
The horns from the original song can also be heard over a hip-hop beat. In the video for the song (which was released Oct. 31 and has already been climbing the charts), the singer is dressed in Maria's nun frock while her dancers-entourage — the Harajuku Girls — are donned in Von Trapp family gear.
Stefani shares writing credits on the song with producers Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams (the duo also known as The Neptunes).
"Wind It Up" is not the first time Stefani has turned to the musical theatre for inspiration. In 2004 the songstress teamed with rapper Eve on a song titled "Rich Girl" for her album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." The Dr. Dre-produced track included a portion of lyrics from the 1993 same-named pop song by British musicians Louchie Lou and Michie One — which was based on the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man" penned by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.
The singer (who is married to singer Gavin Rossdale) was seen on screen as Jean Harlow in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" and also appears in the movie "Zoolander." As the lead singer for No Doubt, she made hits of songs like "Spiderwebs," "Don't Speak," "Just a Girl" and "Ex-Girlfriend." As a solo artist she has sung on "South Side" (with Moby) and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (with Eve) as well as her own songs "Hollaback Girl" and "Cool" from her debut album.