Shania Twain

Shania Twain Introduction

Shania Twain (born Eilleen Regina Edwards, August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter in the country and pop music genres. Her third album Come on Over is the best-selling album of all time by a female musician, and the best-selling album in the history of country music. She is the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America, and is also the second best selling artist in Canada, behind Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has achieved both critical and financial success, having received five Grammy awards, 27 BMI Songwriter awards, and sold over 65 million albums worldwide to date including 48 million in the US alone. Twain practices Sant Mat, which calls for daily meditation and vegetarianism. Despite the Revlon cosmetic ads and venturing into the perfume market, Twain has stated that she is uneasy about being a sex symbol and has often felt uncomfortable and stressed during photo shoots where she believes it is music that will last forever, not an image. "When I began singing I wanted to be a backing singer for Dolly Parton or Stevie Wonder, I didn't sign up to be a model or actress and didn't want fame," she has said. "For me it's all about music. Music is when I feel at my best, spiritually, emotionally and physically".

Shania Twain Career

In 1991, she was invited to record a demo tape in Huntsville, Ontario. That led to her first recording contract with entertainment lawyer Richard Frank, whereupon she changed her name to Shania an Ojibwa word which means "On my way".

Twain wrote only one of the songs ("God Ain't Gonna Getcha for That") on her self-titled debut album. The album's first two singles, "What Made You Say That" and "Dance with the One That Brought You" peaked at #55 on the Hot Country Songs chart, while its third single, "You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me", failed to reach the charts. The album failed to sell significant copies initially, although Twain's future success generated enough interest for the album to be certified platinum by the RIAA, denoting sales of over a million. That same year, Twain sang harmony vocals on Sammy Kershaw's Haunted Heart album.

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", "Honey, I'm Home", "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.

The album stayed on the charts for the next two years and Come on Over went on to sell 20 million copies in the United States and over 34 million worldwide, making it the biggest-selling album of all time by a female musician, and the biggest-selling country album of all time. It is also the eighth biggest-selling album by any type of artist in the US.

After a two year break, Twain went back into the studio, along with a management change (QPrime replacing Landau), and recorded her latest CD. 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.

Shania Twain Personal Life

Shania Twain split from her reclusive husband of 14 years in May 2008. The couple spent the past 7 years hiding out in a castle in Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland with their son, Eja D'Angelo. The split occured following "Mutt" Lang's revelation that he was romancing the couple's longtime secretary Marie-Anne Thiebaud. Shortly after the split, Shania was rumored to be dating NHL Hockey player Curtis Joseph. Joseph recently admitted to his teammates that he had a tryst with Twain over the summer. In October 2008, People Magazine linked Shania with pop singer/actor Chris Ayala from the boyband ELITE. And then in December 2008, Shania sparked reports she's dating the husband of the woman her ex is alleged to have had an affair with after she was spotted in New York with the man identified as Frederic Thiebaud. Now that's revenge.