Shania Twain has been making the most of her time out of seclusion recently, and she's excited to greet the public on April 29 in a huge way, at the 11th Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, CA. The weekend stint will be the first festival headlining duty for the gorgeous and gifted songwriter. Songs like “Any Man of Mine,” “Man! I Feel like a Woman,” “You’re Still the One” and “Honey, I’m Home” brought a new kind of female empowerment to the country genre, and created a burgeoning young fan base. Shania Twain has never been off the radar.
She has performed through stellar residencies in Las Vegas, done big production tours, and continued to write new songs, but she needed time for introspection and healing, and that process is reflected in her upcoming album. At 51, Shania Twain is ready for new stages, and writing new chapters in her musical legacy.
A new first
“It's never too late for firsts,” declared an excited Shania in a Mercury News feature. Shania Twain has been trying out a lot of things lately. She will be mentoring on “The Voice” next week, she sat on James Corden’s couch this week, sharing some very personal reflections, and her very welcome laugh. Despite her disbelief that it’s her first time at Stagecoach after following its rise on the music scene throughout the past decade, Twain will have superb support from superstar buddies, Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney, with her set fit snugly between the two.
The process of making her new album was a professional first, too, for the artist who had so closely collaborated with her ex-husband, Robert “Mutt” Lange through her meteoric career rise. This time, the album is all hers, and she dared to take the “leap of courage," reminding herself that “we’ll find out what you're made of these days.” Her songwriting throughout the process was cathartic and necessary, as she took herself through the pain of ending her marriage after Lange’s infidelity, and finding her own strength, and finally new love, with husband Frederic Thieband.
From scary to ready to soar
Shania might select new songs “Life’s About to Get Good” or “I'm Alright” from her new collection. She describes the tone as more melancholy at times, but how “sadness and disappointment” evolve with time to become a reason for “moments of celebration,” as she found new wisdom and strength. Another song, “Swinging With My Eyes Closed” captures the feel of the resilient fighter, and Twain loves that her choruses are “celebratory and happy,” and destined to thrill another new throng of fans.
The songwriter has moved past the point where it was “really scary” to explore pain and be so personal in writing. “I'm ready to share with the world. It's a relief,” she admits, and Stagecoach will be the perfect place to test the tunes. Originally, a spring single release was projected, but now, the new music seems to be slated for the fall.
Shania Twain has faced her past, and stage fright, too, when she had an accident on stage that she, fortunately, was able to cover with a spilled glass of water “like MacGyver,” as James Corden laughed. Brighter horizons are ahead, with a new album, and a future blazing hotter than the California desert.
