Shania Twain

Shania Twain (shu-NYE-uh, born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has been very successful in the country and pop music genres. She is the only female artist to have three of her albums to be certified diamond by the RIAA.

Contents

1 Early years 2 Career success 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 DVDs 3.3 Hit singles 4 Awards 5 See also 6 External links

Early years

Born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario to Sharon and Clarence Edwards, she grew up as Eilleen Twain in Timmins, Ontario, after her parents separated when she was two and her mother married Jerry 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 "the longshot" which covered Top 40 music. When her mother and adoptive father died in a car crash on November 1 1987, Eileen took her two younger brothers, Mark and Darryl and sister Carrie-Ann to Huntsville, Ontario, where she supported the family by performing at a local resort (Deerhurst resort). In 1991, after an entertainment lawyer from Nashville heard her act, she was invited to record a demo tape.

In 1991, when she signed her first recording contract with Richard Frank, Mercury Nashville Records, she changed her name to Shania which is an Ojibwa language word meaning "I'm on my way"; her adoptive father was a full-blooded Ojibwa. The city of Timmins later renamed a street for her and built the Shania Twain Museum (Shania Twain Centre).

Career success

Initially known as a country music artist, after her musical collaboration with (and subsequent marriage to) rock producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, her music veered towards pop, with huge commercial success following. Her album The Woman in Me caught fire due to singles like "Any Man of Mine" and "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" It eventually topped the country charts for months and became a massive crossover on the mainstream charts, peaking at No. 5 and topping out at 12 million sold.

In 1997, Shania Twain released her follow-up album, Come on Over. Selling 172,000 out of the gate and peaking at No. 2, the album was seen by many at first as a disappointment, given the massive success of her last effort. But slowly, the album started racking up sales. It never hit the top spot, but with the single "You're Still the One", sales skyrocketed. Songs like "Don't Be Stupid," "Man! I Feel like a Woman," "That Don't Impress Me Much," and "From This Moment On" joined the 11 songs that eventually saw release as singles. Over the next two years, the album stayed on the charts, spinning off hit after hit. She toured the globe in support of the album. When the dust finally settled, Come on Over had sold 20 million copies in America and 39 million worldwide, making it the biggest album by a female artist in history.

Many newer fans were totally unaware of her country music roots, particularly as singles released outside the United States and Canada featured remixed versions de-emphasising country-style instrumentation. She was voted the sexiest vegetarian alive by a PETA award in 2000.

After having a child in 2001, Shania Twain went back into the studio. Up! was released in November of 2002, making it five years since the world had new material from her. Naturally, she toured again to support it. A double-album, it featured 19 songs in pop mixes and the same 19 songs in country mixes. Internationally the country mixes were replaced by world mixes. Up! debuted at No. 1 to good reviews, selling 874,000 in the first week alone. It charted at the top for five weeks. Despite hit singles like "Gonna Getcha Good", "Up!" and "Forever and for Always", Up! didn't have the staying power of Come on Over. It sold 5 million in America, roughly down 75% from its predecessor. Since it was a double album, it has been certified 10 × Platinum.

In 2004, she decided to release a greatest hits album. It quickly sold 2 million copies in the United States in just a month and a half.

Shania Twain has always seen herself as a songwriter; part of her initial dissatisfaction with the Nashville music scene was her record company's expectation that she would use outside songwriters. She has, in fact, written many of her own songs, such as "From This Moment On", "You're Still the One", "That Don't Impress Me Much", "Any Man of Mine", "The Woman In Me", "Forever and for Always", "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!", and "Party for Two".

Twain currently lives in Switzerland with Lange and their son Eja.

Discography

Albums

• Eileen
• Shania Twain (1993), US Sales: 1 million (2 million worldwide)
• The Woman in Me (1995) #5 US, #9 UK - US Sales: 12 million (18 million worldwide)
• Come on Over (1997) #2 US, #1 UK - US Sales: 20 million (39 million worldwide)
• Up! (2002) #1 US, #4 UK - US Sales: 11 million (16 million worldwide)
• Greatest Hits (2004) #2 US, #6 UK - US Sales: 4 million (7 million worldwode)

Total US album Sales : 48 million; Worldwide album sales : 82 million

DVDs

Title	Cert. Date	Status
The Woman In Me	4/05/96	Platinum
Complete Woman In Me	9/24/99	Platinum
VH1 Behind the Music	4/07/99	Platinum
Shania Twain Live	7/21/99	Platinum
Platinum Collection	3/09/04	Platinum
UP! Live In Chicago	3/09/04	Platinum
Come On Over Video	3/09/04	Platinum
Up Close And Personal	12/09/04	Platinum

Hit singles

(in alphabetical release)

• from "Shania Twain"
  • "What Made You Say That?
  • "Dance With The One That Brought You"
  • "You Lay A Whole Lot Of Love On Me"
  • "God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That"

• from The Woman in Me (1995)
  • "Any Man of Mine" — #1 US
  • "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)" — #28 US
  • "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" — #1 US
  • "No One Needs to Know" — #1 US
  • "The Woman In Me (Needs The Man In You)" —#14 US
  • "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" — #1 US
  • "You Win My Love" — #37 US

• from Come on Over (1997)
  • "Come on Over" — #6 US
  • "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" — #6 US, #5 UK
  • "From This Moment On" — #3 US, #9 UK
  • "Honey, I'm Home" — #7 US
  • "Love Gets Me Every Time" — #1 US
  • "Man! I Feel like a Woman!" — #3 US, #3 UK
  • "Rock This Country!" — #10 US
  • "That Don't Impress Me Much" — #2 US, #3 UK
  • "When" — #18 US, #18 UK
  • "You're Still the One" — #2 US, #10 UK
  • "You've Got a Way" — #13 US

• from Up! (2002)
  • "Forever and for Always" — #1 US, #6 UK
  • "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" — #6 US, #4 UK
  • "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" — #18 US
  • "Ka-Ching!" — #8 UK
  • "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" — #9 US
  • "Thank You Baby" — #11 UK
  • "Up!" — #11 US, #21 UK (released as a double A-side with "When You Kiss Me" in the UK)
  • "When You Kiss Me" — #16 US, #21 UK

• from "Greatest Hits" (2004)
  • "Party for Two" (with Mark McGrath) — #7 US, #10 UK
  • "Don't!" — #25 US, #30 UK
  • "I Ain't No Quitter"

Awards

Shania Twain has won numerous Grammy awards, including Best Country Album, Top Country Artist of the Year, and Best Songwriter.

See also

• Crossover Music
• Best selling music artists - World's top selling music artists chart.

External links

• Official website (http://www.shaniatwain.com)
• Team Shania! (http://www.teamshania.com)
• The Shania Forums (http://www.shaniaforums.com/)
• AllMusic.com: Shania Twain (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:be5g8qntbtz4~T1)
• Template:Imdb nameda:Shania Twain

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