Shania Twain Co Uk - The UK Shania Site

CNN - WORLD BEAT
CNN: Now, someone who's used to being familiar on the country music charts is Shania Twain. This 32 year old canadian was born Eileen but when she moved to Nashville she became Shania, a native american name meaning "I'm on my way". 17 million albums later, she certainly is.

Shania Twain - Inside Track

Shania: It's not something you just go and do. I really went through a whole lifetime, it seems like, building up to it. I spent my youth pretty much in clubs doing that sort of road circuit. Waiting my fee alot, doing alot of demos and writing alot of songs. And really just paying my dues until i thought i was ready to take the big trip across the border. Because for a canadian, especially from a smaller town that far from the border, it was just a completely other world.

CNN: You said that one of the favourite things you do is songwriting - When did you start writing songs?

Shania: When i was ten years old i wrote my first song and it became the, it kind of became my toy i guess, if you will yknow...

CNN: How so?

Shania: My song's - my guitar and my song's were my playmates and i was a recluse for very much of my childhood. I just lost myself in music for most of the time, and, and of course i learned other peoples music and all that sort of thing, but i was most interested in creating my own music, so i would go off into the bush. I could take my guitar with me, i would build a little fire and i would sit there all day till dark writing songs...It's challenging to get it to the point where you call it finished. Of course, the whole proccess is challenging, you want it to be the best that it can be, and all that sort of thing. Just the raw sitting down and writing those songs is not really all that difficult for me, because I'm just writing about what I'm thinking and about my thoughts.

It is kinda frustrating because there are some people, for instance, in country music, that don't consider me a valid country artist. And there are other, then there are people outside of country who consider me only a country artist. I mean, it's like i don't fit in anywhere.

CNN: Given your extrodinary popularity over the last 4 years, why has it taken you so long to tour?

Shania: When i finally got the chance to record an album of all my own music, i wasn't about to get on the road, two singles into it and fill in my show with cover material. Just because i didn't have enough hits of my own. So i took a big chance by not going out and i lost alot of money too, because I'm sure most people would have probably capitalized on that moment. But the reality of it was, as the songwriter of these songs, i was very proud to see this album doing what it was doing without the support of this performer and I'm glad that i did it. Because now i have a show that's two hours long and it's all original material, and it's so gratifying, it's satisfying, alot of people are eating there words right now and it feels good because most people assume i wasn't on tour because, i was afriad to go on tour, i couldn't sing live, I'd never done it before. I mean, they just didn't know my history.

CNN: Can we move on to the personal/professional side as far as working with your husband?

Shania: Yeah

CNN: How much do you acredit mutt with helping with the pop crossover appeal?

Shania: Well, he's a big part of what I'm doing musically anyway. All together. I mean, he's the producer and plays a true producers role. He dictates solos, i mean every little detail musically. So he's very, very involved and very hands on and very responsible for the sound, that i have.

Well, "Your Still The One" was actually, i mean, i came by that very honestly, as far as the subject matter is concerned. I mean, i really just wanted to write a beautiful love song, a successful love story.

I really consider myself an international artist. Because, just as i wouldn't wanna be limited to a specific genre neccesarily, I wouldn't wanna be limited to a specific country. I mean, why? Borders, boundaries, genres, whatever. I mean, i think in the arts, none of it really matters.