Shania Twain Biography
The following biography
has been copied from
WIKIPEDIA.ORG
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Free Encyclopedia.”
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.
*
* * *
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 35
million worldwide, making it the biggest album by a
female artist in the United States.
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.
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shania_Twain
Date Article Copied:
July 11, 2005
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