You're Still the One, That Don't Impress Me Much
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$400 Million
The country music scene is often associated with the United States, but people tend to forget that there have been many successful Canadian artists that have produced country hits. Perhaps none are as notable as Shania Twain, who became one of the most successful country artists of all-time thanks to her crossover appeal that had a lot of pop music fans listening to her songs. Though there’s been just one Twain album in the past 15 years, she still has a massive following and hopefully will be back in the scene full-time.
Twain was born on August 28, 1965 on the other side of the river from Detroit, Michigan in the city of Windsor, Ontario. Twain had moved around a bit when she was growing up, as her family struggled for money. During this time, Twain had learned how to sing and play guitar, and was trying to make any money that she could by playing in bars and clubs while she was in her early teenage years.
Twain’s voice caught a lot of attention from talent scouts who were able to get her into a band called Longshot, though they didn’t find success as a group. Instead, Twain branched out and tried to make it big on her own throughout the 1980s, but wasn’t finding a lot of opportunities. Eventually, Twain was able to record a demo tape for record studios who were able to set her up for success. At the time, she was going by her birth name of Eilleen Edwards, though it was changed to Shania Twain in hopes of appealing to a broader audience. The songs had been recorded, and Twain was on her way to what has been a long and successful career.
In April 1993, Twain was ready to make her debut by releasing her first album which was self-titled, entering in the back end of the US Country Charts while doing rather well in her native Canada. There weren’t many hits from the debut album, but Twain’s follow up in 1995 with “The Woman in Me” would be a knockout.
Eight singles were released from that sophomore album, with six of them becoming the top song on Canada’s country charts with four of them becoming number one in the United States. This included “Any Man of Mine”, “You Win My Love” and “No One Needs to Know”. From there, Twain was ready to become a crossover star, releasing her third album “Come On Over” that found a lot of mainstream success.
Three of the songs from “Come On Over” reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 that tracks all charts, showing just how popular the album was with everyone. “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “From This Moment On” were huge hits, with “You’re Still the One” being the largest success. More than 20 years later, and there’s a good chance that you’ve heard this song at a wedding.
After taking a few years off, Twain released her 2002 album “Up!” that continued her success. Though not as many mainstream hits came from the album, Twain did release songs with “I’m Gonna Getcha Good” and “Forever and for Always” that did quite well. Then, it seemed that Twain disappeared. It wouldn’t be until 2017 that she released her latest album “Now” that has had four singles, including “Life’s About to Get Good” that became a mainstream top 40 hit.
The long break that Twain took off from recording new music was actually the result of Lyme disease, which she said happened after being bitten by a tick, which ended up paralyzing her vocal cord. Twain had to go in for surgery, leaving a scar on her neck, but was thankful that things weren’t worst case scenario. “Lyme disease can be so much more devastating,” she said. “It can go to your brain.”
Twain said that after having a son, she did want to focus on family, but wanted her return to be much sooner. “I did want a break,” she said. “But, of course, I would have never stayed away 15 years. I was too embarrassed to tell anybody that I couldn’t sing. For a long time, I didn’t even know why I couldn’t sing.”
Though her days of selling record breaking amounts of albums might be over (and that’s the same case for any artist in the digital age), Twain is still an iconic name in music. “It’s so much harder to establish longevity (these days), I believe that,” she said. “In fairness to myself I was established over a long period of time. But it is harder to do that now, with everything moving at a different pace.”
“Maybe if I was coming out now I wouldn’t have the opportunity to have that longevity, we’ll never know,” she added. “But I am happy that I’ve already got a relationship with my fans, and I’m getting reacquainted with all these kids who have now grown up.”
When it comes to reflecting on her career, Twain says that “Later in my life, I’m going to look back and smile and be very fulfilled. I know that if I don’t give it my all right now I’ll regret it later. That’s very important to me, because I’ve worked all my life to have this...I feel like I’m on top of the world. Honestly, I feel like I’ve climbed a very giant mountain, and I’m just standing right on top with my arms wide open and breathing rarified air.”
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