Shania Twain Talks Comeback Ahead of Nashville Concert

Shania Twain took the stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, July 21 as part of her current Now Tour, singing several of her biggest hits, including “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” “From This Moment On,” and more. But equally significant is what Twain said before the show, addressing a small crowd ahead of her performance.

“I hope you enjoy the show and it’s the best night of your life,” said the Canadian. “I always think that way when I go out there every night, and it never ceases to amaze me how much fun I have. By the end of the show I’m like, ‘Yes! This is the best night I’ve ever had.’ It just feels really good to share new music with the fans, new music with you.”

Twain also touched on her difficult comeback, including a painful – and public – divorce from Mutt Lange, and her battle with dysphonia, a vocal disorder Twain believes she contracted after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.

“It took a lot of preparation obviously, to get off of my butt, and a lot of courage to get up there and do it,” Twain concedes.”It’s a really good journey to start from one place, and end up in the ultimate, which is hearing people singing along and having a lot of fun. That’s why we do this.”

Artists like Cassadee Pope and Jillian Jacqueline were in attendance, along with her opening act, Bastian Baker, prompting Twain to offer her own words of wisdom to the rising stars.

“I know there’s a lot of new, up-and-coming talent in this room,” Twain said. “I want to congratulate you, first of all, just for getting to this place where you are, mainly with the industry, as finding your way in Nashville, which is a challenge. It’s difficult for any artist. I’m coming back in August to shoot Real Country, and I’m so excited about this phase of just being part of the nurturing of new talents. And not necessarily new talent.

“Listen, by the time I made it in Nashville, I was not new,” she continued. “I had started in bars at the age of eight years old, so I know that none of you that are here just came out of the blue. You’re all talented. I’m just really looking forward to being a part of the community that has for so long nurtured and supported great talent, great song-writing talent. I’m an advocate for that. You don’t have to be a songwriter, but I just feel like that is at the root of everything we do in country music, and we have to keep that going. We have to keep nurturing songwriting and the truth, and telling our own story through our music.”

It’s Twain’s passion for helping developing talent that drew her to Real Country in the first place.

“Whether that means collaborating or going on your own, or whatever it is, I look forward to being a part of that development, and to meeting great new talent,” she said. “I see Nashville as the great place and foundation of music history, and the development has been so incredible over the years, and through my career. It is just so exciting to know that there is an incredible future that will make history over and over again here in Nashville, Tenn.”

Real Country will air this fall on the USA Network. Find a list of all of Twain’s upcoming shows at ShaniaTwain.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Nicholas Hunt