As PopCrush reported yesterday, Gwen Stefani is one of the many women to appear in Elle's Gold Dust Women feature in their upcoming music issue. The gorgeous singer, who is also the cover girl on the issue, opened up about her fellow pop divas' style, the current state of (pop) music, and her songwriting process -- even sharing tips she received from rock star Prince.

Stefani, undoubtedly, aims to write songs that could potentially become hits. "Why wouldn't you want that many people listening to the songs that you wrote?" Stefani says in the interview. "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."

She also recalls some very valuable advice she received from the iconic guitarist and pop singer-songwriter, Prince. Stefani explains, "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?"

The 'Hollaback Girl' singer went on to discuss pop music nowadays. "When we were growing up, some of the hits were legendary ones that you hear your whole life," Stefani says. "But certain songs, I don't know if you'll ever hear them again. Because that’s what that music is, like a guilty pleasure, it’s right at the moment. It's like fashion -- it's now, then it's gone."

Speaking of fashion, the No Doubt frontwoman also denies any similarities in style between herself and younger female pop stars like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna. She says, "I don't see myself in those girls. I usually put pants on. I see these girls as more going for the sex-symbol thing. I was more, in the band, like a tomboy. Of course, I think every girl is sexy, so there's going to be a little of that. But I see a lot of younger artists going more toward the sexy thing."

More From PopCrush