Shania Twain has many reasons to celebrate in 2023. She released her sixth studio album, Queen of Me, in February; her self-titled debut album turned 30 on April 20; and on April 28, she'll launch her Queen of Me Tour, headlining arenas in 76 cities in North America and Europe.
With a catalog of countless hits — including seven country No. 1s — Twain's setlist is a celebration in itself. And as her recent eclectic red carpet looks have teased, the Queen of Me tour will commemorate Twain's boundary-pushing fashion as much as her music.
"There's nothing boring about the wardrobe in this show," she teases. "I am styling the tour myself — designing, and cutting, and putting the wardrobe together. So every change will be one-of-a-kind."
In between tour rehearsals, Twain sat down with GRAMMY.com to dive into some of her classics and new tracks, many of which will be part of the Queen of Me show. She shared her most prominent memories from each, from her hair "nightmare" in the "You're Still the One" music video to the life-altering moment that inspired Queen of Me cut "Inhale/Exhale AIR."
Below, the five-time GRAMMY winner tells unique stories behind 10 of her most beloved songs, from "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" to "Queen of Me."
"What Made You Say That," Shania Twain (1993)
The record was over-regulated because I didn't get the direction that I wanted, but the video was totally unregulated — I was just on my own with the director, and we just made what we wanted. It was really the beginning of me already piecing together the silhouettes I was trying to create [with my image].
I guess you would say it was a bit of a honeymoon period. I just took liberty to be incredibly expressive. I was doing things that I would never do in real life — I wouldn't normally wear a beautiful white, braless dress on the beach, for example. I knew that it was a fantasy world, and that it was in front of the camera, and it wasn't real life — and therefore, I felt liberated.
I use Dolly Parton as my inspiration. Dolly Parton has always been glamorous, very body-hugging. She's unapologetic about wearing stilettos and not wearing cowboy boots. She established a very different style that was just Dolly. It wasn't country, it was just Dolly.
I didn't really understand why I wasn't country enough for country when I arrived in Nashville. I was like, "I don't know what you're talking about, you've got Dolly Parton! You've got Willie Nelson with braids down to his butt! What does this mean?"
In making that video, I realized what my look and what my performance body language was. I had just enough rope to go where I wanted to go and put my anchor down. My version of country was variety, and presenting it in a unique way was a good thing.
"Any Man Of Mine," The Woman in Me (1995)
"Any Man Of Mine" was the video where I'm in the bathtub with the bubbles and the horse gave me my towel. My label was like, "Is this is borderline bestiality? We can't air this." Like, what? Are you kidding me? [Laughs.] My response was, "Trust me, my fans are not gonna think that — and if they do, you can take it away,"
The deeper story is, I wanted it to be my first single off that album, and it was like, "No, no, not pushing it too far. Let's not put that first." It wasn't wrong to not put it first. I was just ready to be more bold and to come in and kick the door down.
That was another the open midriff, braless dress. I loved my braless moments, and because I'm like, "Hey, they're not always gonna sit like this! I have to enjoy it while I can!"
"That Don't Impress Me Much," Come On Over (1997)
This was a real introduction for me and experience [in] handling fabrics. getting a feel for texture and shapes and colors. I just learned a lot about it, because I was in Marc Bouwer's studio picking the fabrics. The way it fit me was very, very important, and the way it felt — I wanted it to be comfortable. That's before we knew we were going to be shooting in the desert, by the way.
Earlier on I was doing it myself; I was taking things from ready-made racks and I was pinning, and we were shaping things. This was really my first time in a designer's workshop where I could just play and be a part of it before it was made. It was my biggest learning experience, I would say, in a tailored design and custom look.
I was so drawn to the leopard print and the stretch velvet. I ended up using it so much after that. [The "That Don't Impress Me Much" video] was a big discovery — it awakened my desire to be part of the way things fit, and are cut, and drape. I didn't realize that I could be so part of developing a look.
"You're Still the One," Come On Over (1997)
I just really appreciate it as one of my classics. I'm very proud of what it's done for inspiration in the world of relationships. It's a lot of people's wedding song, a lot of people's anniversary song. It takes on a special role that way, which is really beautiful and means a lot to me.
This video is funny, because it's the first time I'd ever used glue-in extensions. It was so humid, and we were at the beach, and hair was so hard to keep not looking, like, flat and stringy. So [the stylist] glued in a bunch of strips of extensions, and that's how we got that hair look.
It was such a nightmare. I'm like "Oh my gosh, you're gonna put glue in my hair? I've never heard of such a thing!" There were so many things that were still new to me at that time — extensions was one of them, and gluing them in was another.
"Man! I Feel Like A Woman!," Come On Over (1997)
I don't know if the video is more iconic than the song, but I think that the statement of "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" inspired the direction of the video, which was to, in the video's story, reverse the roles — visually, not just lyrically.
It was to manifest — no pun intended — the lyrics into the visual story, and [have the backup] musicians be men and make them the mannequins. A lot of runway [shows] at the time [weren't] so much about the faces of girls and the girls on those runways. They were meant to be displaying clothes, which I understand, but there was also sometimes purposeful, deliberately expressionless faces for that reason. So I wanted to bring that in the men in a playful song.
It was all supposed to be mine — I was all about the expression. I was the rock star, and they were expressionless supermodels. There was a little bit more about a poetic purpose to it.
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!," Up! (2002)
When I think of this one, I can't help but think of the video. It was one of my favorite videos, and still is. I just loved that it was a whole other look for me. I think the glam-rock chick in me came to life from that song and that video.
It was a new thing for me to wear black lace and a rib-structured [silhouette], and the really black eye, and the long, very rock hair. There were a lot of textures in there. I worked a lot on the texture of the hair, and the little braids. The length was important, and the way the wind blew it — the video direction, I was very involved with that one, with lighting and wind, and how everything moved.
I ended up taking it to the first residency at Caesars Palace. At the opening of the show, [we had] the motorbike, and the theme was there. It lives on as one of my fashion sides, one of my images.
"Roll Me On The River," Now (2017)
It's one of my own personal favorites. I am a very soul/folk artist at the root of what I really do in the room when I'm alone with my guitar, before production and stuff is involved. [With] this song, the production stayed true to the core singer/songwriter version. And I just love it. I love the whole story in it, and the bass line is my favorite — I'm gonna highlight the bass player in the song on stage [during the tour].
I was thinking about the South and New Orleans and soul/blues. I wrote this song on a hot, sunny porch. It was very balmy, and it got me in the vibe of New Orleans. And that really came out all the way through to the end, even through the production.
"Best Friend," Queen of Me (2023)
"Best Friend" is actually the first studio and vocal recording that I had done when I got out of the hospital with COVID pneumonia. I wrote the song reminiscing about childhood friendships and how formative they are in your future relationships throughout life. Because I wrote a lot of the new songs during COVID, a lot of my songwriting was very reflective.
This song brought me back to the age of 12 and 13. I really only had one real friend during that time, and that was a very important friendship. I went back to that time and thought about how the bonds of friendships take you through the good and the bad.
The beauty of it is that it is the demo recording. I wasn't expecting it to be something that I would have thought was strong enough [on the first try], just considering that I wasn't really back on my feet yet.
"Queen of Me," Queen of Me (2023)
This was also a COVID period-written song, and it was really just to inspire myself to be responsible for my own frame of mind and my own spirit. Because, like everyone, I was worried about my family and my friends, about the world — where were we going? What was happening?
There was so much mystery and weight with this period of time for everyone in the world, and I thought, Well, writing positive songs — and self empowering ones — are particularly helpful in keeping my own self on track or taking charge of my mindset.
It became a song about being [the] boss of your emotions, of your psyche, of everything. You're the boss of yourself, and keeping yourself on track toward your own dreams and goals as well — not losing focus.
I live my life trying not to get distracted by things that take me off my own trajectory — anything [that would] somehow deconstruct my constructive nature. [Laughs.] So I was trying to keep my optimism intact.
Of course, something like COVID was a very powerful, scary force, and songwriting was a fabulous way of reminding myself that I've just got to keep it together and stay positive. And [remember that] I can be strong for others too. That takes a lot of independent thinking as well, which is what "Queen of Me" is all about.
"Inhale/Exhale AIR," Queen of Me (2023)
When I was in the hospital, I made a list of all the things that I appreciated about air, because I was running out of air, literally. [Laughs.]
I was inspired by a man, a pastor, that was talking about air and not taking it for granted. And I thought, Oh, that's definitely me right now. I want to write a list of all the things I really appreciate about air that I may have taken for granted, and when I get out of the hospital, I'm going to write this song and record it.
Making the album, I was in a very appreciative spirit, looking forward to the end of [COVID] and then celebrating the end of it. I'm just sharing my celebration and my appreciation through the music. Hopefully it resonates to the fans, too.