Shania Twain was born in Canada on August 28, 1965. She fell in love with music relatively early and began writing songs at the age of 10.
Her second album 'The Woman in Me' (1995) was a great success, after which everyone knew her name.
Then the album 'Come on Over' (1997) sold 40 million records, which made it the best-selling album of the artist, as well as the best album of country music.
After separating from her husband in 2008, the five-time Grammy winner stepped out of the spotlight but later returned to perform a series of shows in Las Vegas from 2012 to 2014.
early life
Eileen Regina Edwards, who would later change her name to Shania Twain, was born on August 28, 1965 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Her parents divorced when she was still young, but her mother
Sharon soon remarried a man named Jerry Twain. Jerry adopted Sharon's three children, and four-year-old baby Eileen became Eileen Twain.
Twain grew up in the small town of Timmins, Ontario. There, her family often struggled to make ends meet and Twain sometimes had nothing but a "poor man's sandwich" (bread with mayonnaise or mustard) for lunch at school.
Jerry (her new dad) also had a non-white streak. The singer and her sisters have seen him attack their mother more than once.
But music was a bright spot in Twain's childhood. She started singing when she was about 3 years old.
Already from the first grades at school, the girl realized that music was her salvation and at the age of 8 she learned to play the guitar, and there she began to compose her own songs at the age of 10.
Sharon embraced her daughter's talent, making sacrifices the family could afford to have Twain attend classes and perform in concerts.
Supported by her mother, she grew up singing in clubs and social events, making occasional forays into television and radio.
Overcoming family tragedy
At 18, Twain decided to try her singing career in Toronto. She found work, but did not earn enough to support herself without odd jobs, including at McDonald's.
However, in 1987, Twain's life was turned upside down when her parents died in a car accident.
To support her three younger siblings (in addition to a younger sister, Sharona and Jerry had a son together and adopted Jerry's nephew), Twain returned to Timmins and took a job singing in a Las Vegas-style show at the nearby Deerhurst resort in Huntsville, Ontario. .
However, Twain did not give up making her own music, and she continued to write songs in her spare time. Her demo ended up in Nashville, and subsequently she was signed to Polygram Records.
Early career in Nashville
Her new label liked Twain's music, but didn't care about the name Eileen Twain.
Because Twain wanted to keep her last name in honor of her adoptive father, she decided to change her first name to Shania, which means "I'm on my way."
Her first album titled Shania Twain was released in 1993.
The album was not a big success (although Twain's "What Made You Say That" video, in which she wore a tank top, got a lot of attention), but it did reach one important fan: Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who produced albums for bands like AC/DC, Cars and Def Leppard. After contact with Twain, Lange set to work on the next album.
superstardom
Twain and Lange co-wrote 10 of the 12 tracks on Twain's next album, The Woman in Me (1995).
The singer was excited about this album, but given Lange's rock background and the record's aspirations of pop and country, she was worried about how people would react to it.
She didn't have to worry. First single "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" peaked at number 11 on the country charts.
The next single, filled with rock music, “Any Man of Mine,” soared to number one in the country charts and also reached the top 40.
The following year, Twain received four Grammy nominations and won Best Country Album.
The critical and commercial success of "The Woman in Me" eventually reached over 12 million US sales.
Twain's follow-up album, Come On Over (1997), another co-production with Lange, further featured country and pop styles.
This album also had more songs that hit the top of the charts, including tracks like “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” and “That Don't Impress Me Much,” as well as romantic ballads such as “You're Still the One” and “From This Moment On.”
In 1999, "You're Still The One" won two Grammys, one for Best Country Song and the other for Best Female Vocal Performance. The song also reached #1 on the Billboard country charts.
The following year, Twain took home two more Grammys when "Come On Over" was named The Best Song Of The Country and "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance nomination.
Come On Over - Reigned at number 1 on the country charts for a total of 50 weeks.
The album also became and remains the best-selling country album of all time with worldwide sales of over 40 million and is also considered the best-selling album by a female solo artist.
With the success of Come On Over, followed by a popular tour, Twain became an international star.
In 2002, the album Twain's Up! was released. There were three versions of the album: a pop red version, a country green disc and a blue version which was influenced by Bollywood.
The red and green color combination reached number one on the Billboard national chart and top 200 (the rest of the world got the red and blue color combination, which was also a success).
However, sales dropped compared to previous hits. Approximately 5,5 million copies have been sold in the United States.
By 2004, Shania Twain had recorded enough material for her first greatest hits collection. It was released in the autumn of that year, the album hit the top charts and eventually went XNUMXx platinum.
Personal life
Her personal life seemed to take off along with her career. After months of working with Lange on the phone, the couple finally met in person in June 1993.
They got married six months later.
Hoping to find solitude, Twain and Lange moved to a luxurious Swiss estate.
While living in Switzerland, in 2001 Twain gave birth to a son, Ey D'Angelo Lange. Twain also developed a strong friendship with Marie-Anne Thibault, who worked as an assistant in the household.
In 2008, Twain and Lange broke up. Twain was devastated to learn that her husband was having an affair with Thibault.
The divorce of Twain and Lange was two years later.
The division of property, and indeed the divorce itself, were extremely difficult for Twain.
Not only did her marriage end, but she lost the man who helped guide her career.
Around this time, Twain began to experience dysphonia, a contraction of her vocal muscles that made it difficult for her to sing.
However, there was one person who could understand what Twain was going through - Frederic Thiebaud, Marie Anne's ex-husband.
Twain and Frederic became close, and they got married on New Year's Eve in 2011.
Recent work
Fortunately for Twain's career and her fans, the singer was able to overcome her dysphonia. Some of her healing processes can be seen in the series 'Why not?' with Shania Twain, which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011.
Twain also wrote a memoir, From Now On, which was published in May of that year.
In 2012, the singer fully returned to the public when she began a series of elaborate performances at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The play was called Shania: Still the One and was very successful for two years. The show's live album was released in March 2015.
Also in March 2015, Twain announced that she would embark on a final tour that would visit 48 cities over the course of the summer.
The last show took place shortly before she turned 50 years old. In addition, the singer has plans for a new album.
