A third wave ska band from Anaheim, California, United States. The group was founded in 1986 with a ska-pop sound that failed to make waves due to the popularity of the grunge movement at the time. The band's diamond-certified album Tragic Kingdom helped to launch the ska revival of the 1990s, and "Don't Speak", the third single from the album, set a record when it spent sixteen weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, later broken by the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris".

The group released its next album, Return of Saturn, four years later with a dominant New Wave sound. The album received critical acclaim and peaked on the US Billboard Charts at number 2. Nonetheless, Return of Saturn was not as successful or well-received as Tragic Kingdom or their subsequent releases. Fifteen months after releasing Return of Saturn, the band reappeared with Rock Steady, which incorporated reggae and dancehall music into their work. The album was primarily recorded in Jamaica and featured collaborations with Jamaican artists Bounty Killer, Sly and Robbie, and Lady Saw. The album produced two Grammy-winning singles, "Hey Baby" and "Underneath It All".

No Doubt released the compilation The Singles: 1992-2003 and box set Boom Box in 2003, both of which contained a cover version of the Talk Talk synthpop song "It's My Life". Frontwoman Gwen Stefani launched her solo career the next year with several collaborations, including bandmate Tony Kanal and Neptune Pharrell Williams, while guitarist Tom Dumont began his side project, Invincible Overlord.