Shania Twain talks aging, career longevity and that Brad Pitt lyric

Article content

Country-pop superstar Twain has bucked musical trends for decades by doing exactly what she wants.

Article content

But after her big breakout in the mid-‘90s she didn’t exactly get a chance to experience her many highs — which included three consecutive diamond-certified records with 1995’s The Woman in Me, 1997’s Come On Over and 2002’s Up! — as she was living through them in the moment.

Article content

So now, in the midst of a tour to mark her recently released sixth studio album, Queen of Me, Twain, 58, is feeling a new sense of gratitude.

Article content

“It’s like an event is sweeping over me right now,” Twain said breaking into a grin in a video call from her home in Switzerland earlier this summer.

“I’m on the Queen of Me tour, I’m going back to Las Vegas with the Come On Over residency, it’s 25 years since the Come On Over album was released. There’s so much going on. This era just represents longevity and celebration of so many successes … successes that I didn’t really get to celebrate in the craziness of the Come On Over era … or even The Woman in Me era.”

Article content

Ever since things took off for her following her move to Nashville in the early ‘90s, Twain worked non-stop during that triple-diamond period.

“Now I can celebrate. It’s almost as if now I can breathe and really take it all in,” she said.

Throughout the Queen of Me’s 12 anthemic tracks filled with infectious country-pop (led by Giddy Up! and Waking Up Dreaming), Twain faces getting older with a smile on her face, making music meant to uplift fans — and herself.

“The Queen of Me record I nicknamed my happy album because I used my songwriting to get into a happy space,” the mother of one said. “I wanted to write things that made me want to dance around the studio or around the house. I wanted the music to make me feel happy and good and have that translate to the audience.”

Article content

Article content

The courage that it took to go into the unknown came from knowing that I didn’t really have anything to go back to.

Shania Twain reflects on her decision to give up a stable gig in Deerhurst to pursue her musical dreams in Nashville more than 30 years ago

After an extended break in the mid-2000s due to a battle with Lyme disease that nearly ended her singing career — as well as her split with her producer/husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange — the five-time Grammy winner has enjoyed a Shania-aissance over the last decade thanks to her multiple Vegas residencies, a candid Netflix doc and the timeless nature of her music.

Before returning to North America for the second leg of her Queen of Me tour, which touches down in Toronto next Sunday, Twain spoke to Postmedia about her renewed confidence, getting older and that famous Brad Pitt lyric.

You’re in your fifth decade as a live performer, how are the shows different for you now?

I’m appreciating it more than I ever have before. There’s a lot of things to be grateful for, but I’m grateful to just be out there belting my lyrics and I’m enjoying the styling and the fashion more than ever. I’m like a kid in a candy store. With this tour, Queen of Me has one look for every show … I don’t know if I had a lot of creativity I was trying to get out, because I was going to stop at 25 looks, but I just kept going.

Article content

You put yourself out there with the album cover for Queen of Me and the album artwork. Was that liberating for you?

Very much so … I refuse to become less comfortable in my own skin as I am getting older … I just would rather be happy with what I see in the mirror. It’s something I declared with myself. It’s probably why I’m having so much fun with the clothing as well. I’m enjoying shaping my body more. It’s all about embracing who you are at this minute, and not getting bummed out about it every day. There are so many other things to get you down in the world. There are so many genuinely scary things going on in the world. One of them is not what I see in the mirror [laughs]. I’m fine with what I see in the mirror every day. I’m really OK with it, and it’s a big relief … it feels like a whole stress is gone to not worry about the aesthetics of aging.

Article content

A couple of years ago we spoke about The Woman in Me reissue and celebrating 25 years of that. I asked you about the pressures that came with making a second album. But I completely forgot about your follow-up, Come On Over, and the pressures that must have come with that record. Was that the biggest risk musically for you?

That was the biggest risk of my career because I was being advised that if I didn’t tour with The Woman in Me and take those hits to the live stage that could be it. There were so many reasons why it wasn’t a good idea to not tour with The Woman in Me. But I was so determined to be able to get up there and do at least a 90-minute show with all my own hits. It took me into Come On Over to be able to do that. So it was a risk. It was probably not smart of me, but it turned out OK.

Article content

Early in your career, you had a job singing at the Deerhurst Resort in Ontario. But you left the safety of that to go to Nashville, and that probably took a lot of guts. You could have played it safe in Deerhurst, but you didn’t.

The courage that it took to go into the unknown came from knowing that I didn’t really have anything to go back to. My parents were gone, and (my siblings) were going on with their own lives. What was my purpose now? It was to follow my dreams and my vision. To contribute something to the world and make something of myself. That was Nashville.

What would your younger self think of Shania now in 2023 and where she ended up?

My young self didn’t have this level of success on the radar. No way. In fairness to my young self, there aren’t a lot of artists that have it. What I wanted to do was make a really good living, where I could be independent and not think about relying on anyone ever to survive and then I would be comfortable and my family would be comfortable. Those are fairly modest goals. But I never could have expected that Come On Over would have 12 singles.

Article content

That was such an incredible feat. Last year, when you sang That Don’t Impress Me Much at the People’s Choice Awards, you replaced Brad Pitt’s name with Ryan Reynolds’. Why did you pick Brad in the first place?

I was having fun playing up the obvious with the lyrics. That’s it, really. He was so big in that very moment. It could have been anyone, but he was the one who was everywhere when I wrote that song. He’s still in your face. So the song lives on. It’s not like he became a has been [laughs]. He’s still as present as ever.

After your health scare a few years ago [Twain underwent throat surgery in 2018], is there a feeling from you that you have to get as much new music and play as many shows as you can now?

I don’t look back at that. I am so grateful in many ways. I’m grateful we’re on the live stage again. That’s a big contributing factor to the excitement I’ve got going on right now. I’m excited about belting out Come On Over or whatever I’m singing. But I have this buildup of creativity that I have to put somewhere. So it’s really a groundswell of energy for me and enthusiasm for many reasons.

Catch Shania Twain’s Queen of Me tour across Canada this fall. For a list of dates, visit shaniatwain.com

[email protected]

X: @markhdaniell

Article content