 Lyrically , " Misery " discusses getting over a past lover , while accepting a new one . Many critics felt that the song was inspired by her relationships with Gavin Rossdale and Blake Shelton , and Stefani confirmed in an interview that " Misery " was written about the latter . Upon release , " Misery " received highly positive reviews from music critics , who praised the song for being " addictive " and " catchy " . However , some critics were confused over who the song was written about . A lyric video for the song was uploaded to Stefani 's Vevo account on March 10 , 2016 and featured hand @-@ drawn illustrations created by Stefani ; the song 's official video debuted on May 31 and displayed Stefani in various dresses and outfits . 
