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Every time someone (or me, for that matter) says, “Man,” I automatically pause and then utter, “I feel like a woman.”
That, my friends, is the power of a catchy tune. And catchy tunes are the stock and trade of Timmins, Ont.’s, favourite gal, Shania Twain. Her 1995 album The Woman in Me and 1997’s Come on Over were hit machines.
Twain, who kicked off her Rock this Country Tour this month in Seattle — she plays Montreal June 28 — took the idea of “crossover artist” to a whole new level, uniting good ol’ boys, gay guys and others in their love of the stunning brunette with the big voice and even bigger smile.
With record sales in the 75 million range, the singer-songwriter is one of the biggest-selling artists of all time. Those numbers also scored her the title of the bestselling female country act ever.
So powerful is her success that recently a McDonald’s shareholder used it to extol the virtues of keeping the minimum wage, well, at a minimum. According to the group ThinkProgress, some unidentified man stood up at the company’s annual meeting in mid-May and explained that if the minimum wage had been a livable one Twain and a couple of other high-profile former McDonald’s employees would have happily spent the rest of their working lives saying, “Would you like fries with that?”
So, thank you McDonald’s. Without your salary structure, there would never have been those videos (two words: leopard bodysuit) or the song From This Moment On, which would have left brides and grooms everywhere standing on the dance floor and staring awkwardly at each other.
Back when she was still Eilleen Regina Edwards, Twain and her siblings, mom and stepdad barely eked out an existence. The lore of Twain includes her singing in bars at the age of eight to help earn some extra cash for the family. She sang on The Tommy Hunter Show when she was 13. From there, she fronted cover bands and did solo work. But her dreams were nearly shattered when her parents were killed in a car crash, forcing Twain to take over the role of guardian to her younger siblings.
Once they were old enough to look after themselves, it was full steam ahead again for Twain. Nashville was the destination. It’s there that she met Mutt Lange, who became her collaborator in music and life. They married in 1993, then split up in 2008 after Lange had an affair with Twain’s best friend. Enter more empathy.
She went underground after the divorce. Then she married the guy who was married to the best friend who had hooked up with Lange. Yes, you read that right.
So with all that weird drama, getting on a stage was the last thing she wanted to do. But, thank God, Oprah showed up and said, “Come on, Shania, let’s put on a show” — or something like that.
So we got the 2011 soul-baring reality TV show Why Not? With Shania Twain for the OWN network. I felt bad for her again.
After the series, Twain seemed to regain her footing and she made more public appearances. There was American Idol and the CMA awards, and a residency in Las Vegas.
Now she’s hitting the road on a tour that started with 48 dates and just got bumped up to 67. The people, it seems, want them some Shania.
A new record is expected after the tour, which has been rumoured as her last.