Singer Shania Twain returned to the music scene after eight long years with a power packed performance in Las Vegas.
She is famous for "You're The One".
Shania kicked off her series of shows at Caesar's Palace as she presented a flashy number complete with elaborate costumes and amazing theatrical lights effects, reported Ace Showbiz.
The show, which titled 'Shania: Still the One', featured Twain on top of a robust and shiny motorcycle and dangling in the air on three-meter long wires while wearing a tight-fit
catsuit.
"Thank you. Thank you so much - you guys are going to get me all emotional, and then my eyelashes are going to fall off," Twain
is reported to have told the crowd. "This is a very overwhelming night.... It's been a lot of years for me since I've been here. I realize what I've been missing, thanks to you," she added.
Some great songs from her set list included 'You're Still the One', 'I Ain't No Quitter', 'That Don't Impress Me Much', and 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman'.
Twain, who has not toured since 2004, will run her Vegas show through December 15 and continue with a 14-show date starting March 19, 2013.
Way to go girl.
HISTORY
Shania
Twain was born on the 28th of August 1965 at Windsor,
Ontario. She is a very successful Canadian singer and songwriter in the country and pop music genres. Her third album Come on Over is the biggest-selling album of all time by a female artist, and the seventh biggest selling album in music history. She is the only female artist to have three albums certified Diamond by the RIAA, and has earned five Grammy awards and nearly forty BMI Songwriter awards. She
was married to rock producer Robert "Mutt" Lange. They have a
son, Eja. Shania and her family currently reside in
Switzerland and New
Zealand.
Shania
was born Eilleen Regina Edwards to Sharon
and Clarence Edwards, who separated when she was two.
Sharon remarried Jerry Twain, a full-blooded member of
the Ojibwa First Nation. When he adopted Eilleen, her
name was changed to Eilleen Twain.
Eilleen
Edwards had a hard childhood in Timmins, Ontario.
Her parents earned little, and Sharon was often
depressed over the shortage of food and money in the
household. However she was pivotal to mentoring and
encouraging Eilleen's singing talent, and Eilleen
brought in much needed money by singing in local clubs
and bars from a very young age to support her family.
Shania
Twain
At
the age of 13, Eilleen Twain was invited to perform on
CBC television's Tommy Hunter Show. During high
school in Timmins, she was the vocalist for a local band
called "Longshot" which covered Top 40 music.
When her mother and adoptive father died in a car
accident on November 1, 1987, Eilleen - aged 22 - put
her musical career on hold and was forced to take care
of the family. She and her siblings Mark, Darryl, and
Carrie-Ann moved to Huntsville, Ontario, where she
supported them by performing at the nearby Deerhurst
resort.
In
1991, after an entertainment lawyer (Dick Frank) from
Nashville, Tennessee heard her act, she was invited to
record a demo tape. That led to her first recording
contract with Richard Frank of Mercury Nashville
Records, whereupon she changed her name to Shania [Shu-nye-uh],
which was created by her adoptive father from Ojibwa
words probably meaning "She's on her way".
Twain's embrace of her adoptive Ojibwa heritage has not
been without controversy among members of the Canadian
First Nations, with some claiming that a non-Ojibwa
adopted by an Ojibwa parent cannot be considered a true
Ojibwa. Shania's response to such criticism is: "I
don't know how much Indian blood I actually have in me,
but as the adopted daughter of my father Jerry, I became
registered as a 50% North American Indian ... That is my
heart and my soul, and I'm very proud of it."
The
city of Timmins later renamed a street for her, gave her
the key to the city, and built the Shania Twain Centre
in her honor.. Twain visited Timmins to officially open
the Shania Twain Centre and to film a CTV special on
November 2, 2004.
MUSIC
CAREER
1993–1994: Shania Twain
A couple of years passed and Twain's siblings got older and moved out on their own. Twain assembled a demo tape of her songs and her Huntsville manager set up a showcase for Twain to present her material to record executives. She caught the attention of a few labels, including Mercury Nashville Records, who signed her within a few
months. During this time, she changed her name to Shania, which was said to be an Ojibwa word which means "on my way". However, Twain's biographer, Robin Eggar, writes: "There is a continuing confusion about what 'Shania' means and if indeed it is an Ojibwe word or phrase at all. [...] There is no mispronounced or misheard phrase in either Ojibwe or Cree that comes close to meaning 'on my way.' Yet the legend of her name continues to be repeated in the media to this day and will doubtless provide the obituary headline when Shania eventually passes on."
Twain's self-titled debut album was released in 1993 in North America and garnered her audiences outside Canada. Shortly before its release, she sang backing vocals for other Mercury artists, including Jeff Chance's 1992 album Walk Softly on the Bridges and Sammy Kershaw's 1993 album Haunted Heart Shania Twain only reached No.67 on the US Country Albums Chart, but it gained positive reviews from critics. The album failed to sell significant copies initially, although Twain's future success generated enough interest for the album to be certified platinum six years later by the RIAA, denoting sales of over a million. The album yielded two minor hit singles in the United States with "What Made You Say That" and "Dance with the One That Brought You". The album was more successful in Europe, where Twain won Country Music
Television Europe's "Rising Video Star of the Year" award.
1995–1996: The Woman in Me and breakthrough
When rock producer Robert "Mutt" Lange heard Twain's original songs and singing from her debut album, he offered to produce and write songs with her. After many telephone conversations, they met at Nashville's Fan Fair in June 1993. Twain and Lange became very close within just weeks. Lange and Twain either wrote or co-wrote the songs that would form her second studio album, The Woman in Me. Record executives were stunned when they listened to the album. It was unlike anything else in country music.
The Woman in Me was released in the spring of 1995. The album's first single, "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" went to No.11 on the Billboard Country Chart. This was followed by her first Top 10 and No.1 hit single, "Any Man of Mine". Twain had further hits from the album, including the title track which peaked at No.14 and three additional No.1 hits: "(If You're Not in it for Love) I'm Outta Here!", "You Win My Love", and "No One Needs to Know". As of 2007, it had sold more than 12 million copies. The album was a quick breakthrough and because of this Twain performed selected international venues and television shows including two CMA Fan Fair performances with Nashville guitarists Randy Thomas (co-writer of the song "Butterfly Kisses"), Dan Schafer, Chris Rodriguez, Russ Taff, Hugh McDonald bass player of Bon Jovi, Dave Malachowski and Stanley T., formerly with The Beach Boys.
Mercury Nashville's promotion of the album was based largely upon a series of music videos. During this period, Twain made major television appearances on shows such as two performances on Late Show with David Letterman, Blockbuster Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards. The Woman in Me won the
Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as the Academy of Country Music award for Album of the Year; the latter group also awarded Twain as Best New Female Vocalist.
1997-2001: COME ON OVER
In 1997, Twain released her follow-up album, Come On Over. This was the album that would establish her as a successful crossover singer. Slowly, the album started racking up sales. It never hit the top spot, but with the multi-chart hit single "You're Still the One", sales skyrocketed. Other songs like "Don't Be Stupid", "You've Got A Way", "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!", "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "From This Moment On" joined the 12 songs that eventually saw release as singles. "From This Moment On" is a duet with singer Bryan White and there was a pop version as well.
The album stayed on the charts for the next two years, going on to sell 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling album of all time by a female musician. It is also the eighth biggest-selling album by any type of artist in the
US and the top selling country album in history. Songs from the album won four Grammy Awards during this time, including Best Country Song and Best Female Country Performance (for "You're Still the One" and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!") for Twain. Lange won Grammys for "You're Still the One" and "Come on Over".
Despite the album's record sales it wasn't able to top the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 2. In 1999, the Come on Over album was remixed for the European market as a pop album with less country instrumentation and actually gave her the big breakthrough in Europe she and her producer husband (Robert John "Mutt" Lange) were looking for. Come on Over went to number 1 on the UK album charts for 11 weeks. It became the biggest selling album of the year in Great Britain and a bestseller in other big
European markets as well, selling more than one million copies in Germany and nearly 4 million in the UK alone. The songs that had finally drawn European attention to the album were the pop remixed singles "That Don't Impress Me Much", a No.3 in the UK and Top 10 hit in Germany in the summer of 1999, and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" which peaked at No.3 in both the UK and France in autumn of that year. Additionally, the album set the record for the longest ever stay in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, remaining in the Top 20 for 99 weeks.
In 1998, Twain launched her first major concert tour, aided by her manager Jon Landau, a veteran of many large-scale tours with Bruce Springsteen. The Come on Over Tour shows was a success and won the "Country Tour of the Year" in 1998 and 1999 by Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.
In 2000, Twain was initially scheduled to release a Christmas album, but plans to release one were cancelled later in the year.
Following the success of Come On Over, independent label Limelight Records released The Complete Limelight Sessions in October 2001. The album includes 16 tracks recorded in the late 1980s before Twain signed her record deal with Mercury.
2002–2004: Up!
After a change in management – QPrime replaced Landau — and a two year break, Twain and Lange returned to the studio. Up! was released on November 19, 2002. About a year later, Twain kicked off the Up! Tour in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on September 25, 2003. Up! was released with three different discs – country/acoustic (green CD), pop/rock (red CD), and world/dance (blue CD). Up! was given four out of five stars by Rolling Stone magazine, and debuted at No.1 on the Billboard albums chart, selling 874,000 in the first week alone. It remained at the top of the charts for five weeks. Up! reached No.1 in Germany, No.2 in Australia and the Top Five in the UK and France. In Germany, Up! was certified 4x platinum and stayed in the Top 100 for one and a half years. The international music disc was remixed with Indian-style orchestral and percussion parts recorded in Mumbai, India. The new versions were produced by Simon and Diamond Duggal, brothers from Birmingham, England. They were originally invited to contribute parts to the pop version of "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" which retained the Indian influence.
Twain's popularity in UK was reflected by numerous appearances on the long-running music show Top of the Pops, performing singles from Come on Over from 1999. In 2002 an entire special show was dedicated to her on sister show TOTP2, in which Twain herself introduced some past performances of her greatest hits and new singles from Up!
The first single from the album, "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" became a top 10 country hit in the US, after debuting at No. 24 after only five days of airplay; but only made the Top 40 on the pop charts. It was a much bigger hit on the other side of the Atlantic, released in a pop version, the single hit No.4 in the UK. In Australia, Germany and France the song reached the Top 15 in each case. The follow-up single "Up!" reached the Top 15 in the US country charts but failed to reach the pop Top 40. The second European single became the mid-tempo song "Ka-Ching!" (which was never released as a single in North America) with lyrics where Twain was criticizing unchecked consumerism. The song eventually became another smash hit in the important European markets, reaching No.1 in
Germany and Austria and other European countries, the UK Top 10 and the Top 15 in France. The third single from the album would be the most successful in the US. The romantic ballad "Forever and For Always" was released as a single in April 2003 and peaked at No.4 on the country chart and No.1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and made as well the Billboard Top 20.
Again success was even bigger on the other side of the Atlantic with "Forever and For Always" again reaching the Top 10 in both, the UK and Germany. Further singles were "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" a country Top 10 hit, while the last US single, "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing", made the Top 20 on both Country and AC. Due to the enormous European success of Up! and its first three singles, two more singles were released in the second half of 2003 with up-tempo "Thank You Baby" (#11 in the UK, Top 20 in Germany) and just before Christmas the romantic, acoustic ballad "When You Kiss Me", at least a minor hit in both territories. The title track "Up!" also saw a single release in a limited edition of European countries, such as Germany, in early 2004. In January 2008, Up! had sold 5.5 million copies in the U.S. and was certified by the RIAA as 11x platinum (the organization counts double albums as two units).
2004–2010: Greatest Hits and delay of new album
In 2004, she released the Greatest Hits album, with three new tracks. As of 2008, it has sold over four million copies in the U.S. The first single, the multi-format duet "Party for Two", made the country top ten with Billy Currington, while the pop version with Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath made top ten in the United Kingdom and Germany. The follow-up singles, "Don't!" and "I Ain't No Quitter" did not fare as well. The former made Top 20 on Adult Contemporary, while the latter did not gain enough airplay to crack the Country Top 40.
In August 2005, she released the single "Shoes" from the Desperate Housewives soundtrack.
In June 2009, Twain released a letter to her fans explaining the delays in the release of her next album.[38] In August 2009, at a conference in Timmins, Ontario, a spokesman for Twain's label said a new record from the singer is still "nowhere in sight".
2011–present: Return to music
In May 2011, Twain confirmed in an interview with Perez Hilton that she will release her first new single in six years, "Today Is Your Day", after the finale of Why Not? with Shania Twain. Twain previewed the song in the first episode of the series. Twain worked with music producers David Foster and Nathan Chapman on the new song.[41] In the next few months, Twain plans to return to the studio to finish her fifth studio album. "Today Is Your Day" was officially released to iTunes and country radio on June 12, 2011.
On June 8, 2011, at a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Twain announced that she will headline Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for two years. Her show, titled Still The One, began on December 1, 2012.
On September 26, 2012 In an exclusive interview with Up! Magazine, Shania stated that she is currently working on the show and not really getting any closer to recording a new album. Shania's next album will likely be a collection of holiday favourites.
TV career
Twain's mainstream pop acceptance was further helped by her appearance in the 1998 first edition of the VH1 Divas concert where she sang alongside Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Aretha Franklin, and also by VH1's 1999 heavily aired Behind the Music, which concentrated on the tragic aspects of her early life as well as her physical attractiveness and Nashville's early resistance to her bare-midriff music videos.
On November 12, 2008 Twain made her first television appearance since her split from ex-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, where she appeared as a surprise presenter at the 42nd CMA Awards.
On August 17, 2009, EW announced that Twain would be a guest judge on American Idol in Chicago, for the show's August 30 and 31 episodes.
In April 2010, Twain announced plans for her own TV show, titled Why Not? with Shania Twain. The show debuted on May 8, 2011 on
OWN. Twain returned to American Idol as a guest mentor for a week where the top 6 contestants showcased her
songs. After the conclusion of the ninth season Twain was very close to becoming a judge but ultimately it was Jennifer Lopez who got the job.
Other contributions
In 2003, Twain participated in the Dolly Parton tribute album Just Because I'm a Woman, covering Parton's classic "Coat of Many Colors", with backing vocals by Alison Krauss. The cover peaked at No.57 on the Hot Country Songs charts as an album cut. During the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show Twain performed two songs, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and "Up!"
Twain joined Canadian singer Anne Murray on the song "You Needed Me" on Murray's Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends album released November 13, 2007 in Canada, and on January 15, 2008 in the U.S.
In July 2011, fellow Canadian superstar Michael Bublé confirmed in a live video chat with fans that he recorded a duet of 'White Christmas' with Twain for his 2011 Christmas album.
On February 7, 2012, Lionel Richie's single "Endless Love" featuring Shania Twain was released to digital retailers. The single is the first single from Lionel's "Tuskegee" album released on March 27, 2012. "Endless Love" has been released to radio on the adult contemporary charts. A music video, directed by Paul Boyd, was released to country music channels CMT and GAC in March 2012.
Endorsements
Twain's commercial ventures outside the music industry included a series of cosmetic ads in 1999 based on "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" for Revlon. She also starred in ads for Candie's shoes and Gitano jeans, who also sponsored her 1998–1999 Come On Over Tour.
In January 2005, Twain joined Scentstories by Febreze to create a limited edition scent disc with the proceeds going to America's Second Harvest.
Late in 2005, Twain partnered COTY to produce her namesake fragrance "Shania" by Stetson. A second fragrance was released in September 2007, called "Shania Starlight".
On January 1, 2010, Twain carried the Olympic Torch through her hometown as part of the 2010 Winter
Olympics torch relay.
Personal life
Twain married music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange on December 28, 1993, and they have a son, Eja (pronounced "Asia") D'Angelo, who was born on August 12, 2001. On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange allegedly had an affair with Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. Their divorce was finalized on June 9, 2010. On December 20, 2010, Twain's manager confirmed that Twain was engaged to Frédéric Thiébaud (the Swiss ex-husband of her former best friend), an executive at Nestlé. They married on January 1, 2011 in Rincón,
Puerto Rico.
Twain is a long-time vegetarian and in 2001, was voted PETA's very first Sexiest Vegetarian Alive.
In 2009, Ms.Twain was rated as having the Perfect Face, by scientists. The study, led by the University of Toronto and the University of
California, San Diego, appears in the journal Vision Research. The results suggest her face has a perfect set of geometric measurements, based on the Golden Ratio.
In September 2010, it was confirmed that Twain was to release her first biography, From This Moment On, on May 3, 2011, and the cover work for the book was released on March 2, 2011.
AWARDS & HONOURS
In addition to her various awards for her singles and albums, Twain has received a number of personal honours:
She was named the 1999 Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association; Twain was the first non-US citizen to win the CMA award.
Twain was ranked No.7 in Country Music Television's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.
In 2003, Twain was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
The city of Timmins Ontario, renamed a street for her, gave her the key to the city, and built the Shania Twain Centre in her
honour.
On November 18, 2005, Twain was invested as an Officer in the Order of Canada.
Twain was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards on March 27,
2011.
On June 2, 2011, Twain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her star is the 2,442nd Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Category of Recording.
Discography
Main article: Shania Twain discography
Studio albums
Shania Twain (1993)
The Woman in Me (1995)
Come On Over (1997)
Up! (2002)
Tours & Residency Shows
Come on Over Tour (1998–1999)
Up! Tour (2003–2004)
Still The One (2012–2014)
I
Heart Huckabees (2004) (writer: "Man! I
Feel Like a Woman!") (performer: "Man! I
Feel Like a Woman!")
... aka I Love Huckabees (USA: alternative title)
Going
the Distance (2004) (writer: "Man I Feel
Like a Woman")
... aka National Lampoon's Going the Distance
(USA: DVD box title)
The
Santa Clause 2 (2002) (writer: "Man! I
Feel Like A Woman")
... aka SC2 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Santa Clause 2 (UK: poster title)
... aka The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause (USA)
Waking
Up in Reno (2002) (writer: "Any Man Of
Mine") (performer: "Any Man Of
Mine")
Crossroads
(2002/I) (writer: "Man! I Feel Like a
Woman!") (performer: "Man! I Feel Like a
Woman!")
"Laços
de Família" (2000) TV Series
(performer: "Man (I Feel Like A Woman)")
"The
Sopranos" (1 episode, 2000)
- Bust-Out
(2000) TV Episode (writer: "You're Still
The One") (performer: "You're Still The
One")
Notting
Hill (1999) (writer: "YOU'VE GOT A
WAY") (performer: "YOU'VE GOT A
WAY")
"Muñeca
brava" (1998) TV Series (performer:
"You're Still The One", "From This
Moment", "Whatever You Do!Don't!",
"That Don't Impress Me Much",
"When", "If You Wanna Touch Her,Ask!",
"I Won't Leave You Lonely", "I'm
Holdin' On To Love (To Save My Life)!",
"Love Gets Me Every Time", "Man,I
Feel Like A Woman!", "Don't Be
Stupid!", "You've Got A Way",
"Honey I'm Home")
... aka Wild Angel (International: English title)
"The
Apprentice" .... Herself (1 episode,
2005)
... aka The Apprentice 2 (USA: second season
title)
... aka The Apprentice Los Angeles (USA: sixth
season title)
... aka The Apprentice USA (UK)
- Shaniagans
(2005) TV Episode .... Herself
"Stjerne
for en aften" .... Herself - Performer (1 episode,
2003)
... aka Stjerne for en aften - Den sidste mission
(Denmark: fourth season title)
- Episode
#2.8 (2003) TV Episode .... Herself -
Performer
