Sweet. Silly. Sexy. Stefani.

Gwen Stefani is silly. And fun. And sweet. And sexy. And original.

What's not to like?

She's a 37-year-old mom (son Kingston celebrated his first birthday last month) with the attitude and style of a woman half her age. A fashion maven with a hugely successful clothing line called L.A.M.B., she's currently in thrall of Michelle Pfeiffer's coke-whore/bombshell look in "Scarface" — platinum hair, big sunglasses, tight white dress, stiletto heels.

But her favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music." Which is why practically the first thing you hear on her latest album, "The Sweet Escape," is Stefani singing and yodeling "The Lonely Goatherd," sounding just like her hero, Julie Andrews.

The "Goatherd" snippet is part of the busy soundscape of "Wind Up," a clever dance-floor-oriented song about the many reasons boys like girls. It's the first hit from the new disc.

Stefani plays White River Saturday night, one of the last dates of a 40-city tour that has been marked by controversy. Tour sponsor Verizon backed out after opening act Akon, a rapper with whom Stefani collaborates on her new album, caused controversy (stirred by a YouTube video clip) by dirty dancing onstage with an underage girl in one of his own shows prior to the tour.

While the incident made for good tabloid TV, it seems to have enhanced rather than hindered both Akon's and Stefani's careers. It gave Akon name recognition, and Stefani got points for sticking by him and keeping him on the tour, while presumably losing Verizon's tour-support money. When the two of them do a duet at White River, the place is sure to go nuts.

Stefani's solo career is hot (her first album, 2004's "Love. Angel. Music. Baby.," sold more than 7 million copies), but she's still a member of No Doubt, the ska-punk band that's been around more than 20 years. That band, which has sold some 27 million recordings, made her famous via such hits as "Spiderwebs," "Don't Speak" and "Hey Baby."

No Doubt released its last album of new material in 2001 and hasn't toured since 2004. Whether Stefani's next move is to reunite with her bandmates or do another solo album (or have more babies — she jokes about making her own von Trapp family) remains to be seen.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com