Shania Twain Co Uk - The UK Shania Site

David Allen: It's not true, it's all rumours Shania. A bedtime story from Shania Twain who was in london yesterday. And our UK correspondant Neil Coppendale didn't need much pursuasion to meet up with this chart topping lady.

Firstly, they talked about Shania's childhood in Canada and her early interest in country music, actively encouraged by her parents, who were great country fans thereselves.

Shania: Yes, they had the ambition and the drive, there's no doubt about that. I had the passion. I didn't really have the ambition to become proffessional. I mean, what does being a proffessional even mean to an eight year old? So, i was very, very passionate about it and focused. And it was my parents drive really, i guess, that took me to that next level beyond experimenting. And beyond sort of playing. Because has a kid I'd rather play with my guitar and write music than play with barbie dolls. That was my preference, y'know, but i wouldn't have taken it seriously as a career, so young of course, had my parents not been as serious as they were. So without my parents, mm..i would have been a closet singer.(laughs)

Neil Coppendale: Now, is Shania twain too sexy for country? That's a question i saw somewhere recently and i couldn't manage to find an answer. What do you think?

Shania: (Laughs) er...I think it's quite funny. em...i would say absolutely Not! But, in my opinion of course. I mean, i think George Strait is sexy and i think everyone would agree the music is very sexy. The mood is very sensual and very intimate and i think that, that just speaks volumes right there. I mean, just because you wear a midriff shirt certainly doesn't, y'know, that doesn't say everything. You'd be very naive not to recognise that. But like i said i think George Strait is extremely sexy and y'know, i don't think that question would be posed to him.

Neil Coppendale: Okay, i think you've answered that question. (Shania Laughs)

Neil Coppendale: Tell me Shania, who's idea was it to remix the british version of your album Come On Over, so that more or less all of the country was taken out?

Shania: Well, that decision was made when we were writing it. Mm..we actually didn't think we were gonna make a whole album of it. What we thought we were gonna do was just take certain things and experiment and play around and have different mixes. And the point behind that was because on 'The Woman In Me', at least three of the songs were remixed in the USA and Canada by djs, and these radio stations were making all these really pop, rocky, dancy, mixes of the songs and they became hits all over again, even at country radio. So, i realised then, that the country audience i had was actually very, very broad and they weren't as limited as everyone had antisipated. And basically, the fans were underestimated and so i said, i thought, well y'know, they want to hear this from me and that gave me a freedom that i was very pleased with. So it was a real..er...basically artisitic freedom that the fans licsensed me to have. Which was great.

Neil Coppendale: What now then? Country styled or not? In a word Shania.

Shania: It's always going to be abit of everything. It's just my style. I like to be diverse. I get bored very quickly. Mm...even my live show is going to be different from both albums..(laughs)..so again, it's, i think it's what my fans have grown to expect from me. There's always going to be a country element to my music. Thats never gonna disapear and the pop element will never disapear and I'm very happy with that, the fans seem to be very happy with that aswell. Of course, like you said, of course you cant please everyone all of the time. But i never would, regardless