Song Roulette
A Vulture series in which artists share the stories and strategy behind their lead singles.
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It also spawned an inconceivable 12 singles 75 percent of the track list!
I Feel Like a Woman!
The goal wasnt to be a pop artist or a crossover artist.
It was to be an international artist, Twain explains.
WhatMadeYouSayThat,ShaniaTwain(1993)
.The Song
.
I was signed as a singer-songwriter-performer, and a part of getting a deal was sharing my original demos.
The plan was I would write part of the first album.
I had never co-written anything I was a very solitary songwriter.
But I went along with it, understanding that this was a stepping stone.
I didnt flourish very well in the co-writing situation, because they were set in three-hour sessions.
It was kind of like going to an appointment.
It was the opposite of what I would normally have done and the opposite of what I still do.
I mean, it was a cover.
There was no room there forme.
It just showed up at one of the sessions one day.
I knew I had stronger material of my own.
I also changed in my mind the course of how my own material would get its opportunity.
It wouldnt have been my sole decision.
.The Payoff
The only way I could contribute was to the music video.
I was left to my own devices.
We had a very low budget, so there was no stylist.
I was the stylist.
I shopped for the clothes.
I pinned the clothes how I wanted them to fit.
I cast the male lead and worked on the whole scenario with the director.
It was him and I working on all the setups.
The video was more popular than the single itself.
WhoseBedHaveYourBootsBeenUnder?,TheWomaninMe(1995)
The idea of the song came about before Imet Mutt.
I was in my little cabin in the woods.
I didnt have anyone living with me.
Well, thats another story.
But I was living in the cabin and I wrote a bunch of songs.
It was around 1990.
Then when I met Mutt, I presented that one to him and he loved it.
We ended up finishing the song together.
We kept it very much in the country vein I started it in.
My main influence was my grandmother.
You know when theres crackers in your bed, and theyre not your crackers?
Or theres a different scent on your pillow?
That was her way of saying someone else has been in your bed.
She told me once, Just ensure theres never anybody elses crackers in your bed.
I figured,I want a more mature way of saying that.
Its obviously about a cheating spouse.
I thought it would make a great country song thats a little more progressive and modern.
It was just me trying to be clever with a country lyric.
It was sassier than the average female country song at the time.
Mutt encouraged that humor.
I enjoy writing songs that make me laugh while Im writing them.
Its always a joy to do that when I can laugh at whatever I think is funny and clever.
This was before the single was decided.
But I love Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?
Simply put, it was the safer choice.
It was a more traditional-sounding song.
Its a stomper for sure.
Its a kick-ass country record.
It was only a top-ten hit, but its one of my biggest live songs.
I just thought Any Man of Mine represented the album better.
I felt there was now a concrete beginning to my recording career.
It had been stabilized, at least, until the next single could happen.
This was pure personality.
This is exactly how I would say it if I was in a conversation.
It was a chance for the fans to get to know me as a character.
Not as a character but me andmycharacter.
It was a good setup for Any Man of Mine.
Lets give them my country, my character, and my personality.
But it also got criticism.Im too sassy.
Its male-bashing.Some people couldnt see the sense of humor in it.
I was criticized as just a lap dancer from the music video.
I remember someone wrote, That was a great title, too bad about the song.
But the fans established it as their hit.
That was all it needed.
To someone British or French or Spanish, what does that mean?
There were a lot of Nashville musicians on it.
It was still very rooted in the country tradition but the drums smacked.
It had more of a rock edge.
It was important to show the diversity in my messages.
It showed a softer side of me.
Im as vulnerable as anybody.
In country music especially, there was a risk of thinking,Shes this hard-ass.
Shania is always trying to make a point about female power.Ive never tried to make a point of anything.
I just express what Im thinking.
Its coming from my heart and coming from my head.
Im the bold one.
I wanted to go right for Man!
I Feel Like a Woman!
Im not a music-industry or radio-programming expert.
I dont study the way it works.
I just know what I want to say and the way I want to express it.
The visual direction is always easier for me than what song to choose first.
I knew it would translate very well onstage.
ImGonnaGetchaGood!,Up!
(2002)
First off, I never thoughtThe Woman in Mewould be a diamond album.
For a country artist, its unheard of, right?
Especially for a female country artist.
I thought the peak numbers in my career were going to be from the mid-90s.
I went intoCome on Overwith the expectation of creating another diamond album, because why not?
So now Im thinking again,Of course Im not going to have a third diamond album.
Who gets that lucky?I wasnt being pessimistic.
This is more than I could ever ask for.
I enjoyedUp!as a songwriting follow-up record and I spent more time in the studio than ever.
I felt the pressure was off afterCome on Over, weirdly enough.
I wanted Im Gonna Getcha Good!
to be something punchier than usual for me.
I was thinking about Pat Benatar and Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
I wanted to bring my more teenage-rock edge to the song.
The song starts off with: Dont want you for the weekend, dont want you for a night.
I got that direction with the lyrics after hearing Kiss by Prince and the Revolution.
I wanted to reverse the roles there.
The song is meant to be a female take on Kiss.
That was the inspiration for the direction of the songs story.
It sounded familiar but in a fresh way.
I decided there were going to begreen, blue, and red versions.
We were trying to keep up with all the different countries and cultures coming onboard.
I found we were always back in the studio making them more palatable.
They are two completely different treatments and productions.
Thats why I told Mutt, Its the same artist, same writers, same voice.
Im not changing myself but lets give the song a different production.
I thought my fans deserved that after already following me this far.
Im Gonna Getcha Good!
established me on a deeper level with the audience I already had and the one I was gaining internationally.
I think they were more satisfied with the red and blue versions.
I saw the purpose of it and it was very satisfying for the audience to have those options.
At the time, I never followed the charts.
Im like,I cant do it.
I have to let go of whatever happens to the songs.
I knew that the album was deeper than one song and deeper than the first single.
The album did go diamond.
Like a lot of things in my career, its been a progressive experience.
I was used to it by then.
I needed to express my joy for life and my respect for pain at the same time.
All of the things that brought me valuable lessons.
I wanted to capture where I was during the writing process.
It was one of the most vulnerable songs of my career.
It was quite literal and melancholy, which was unusual for me to put on an album.
But it was my truth at the moment.
Its a very important song on a very important album.
So many people were asking, Where are you?
What are you doing?
When is your next album?
Lifes About to Get Good was my answer to that.
Im coming up and out of a personal challenge and Im coming out stronger.
I was insistent for this to be the lead single because of that.
I wanted everyone to know that all is good and the sun is coming out.
you’ve got the option to sense the reception when I play this live.
Its cheerful, but the audience loves the sentiment.
I think, overall, my fans were just happy to see that I was happy.
The whole album tugged at their heartstrings more than any other music Ive released.
The stories that I get back, and why they relate to the song, are very moving.
They responded with appreciation, which is what I wished for.
WakingUpDreaming,QueenofMe(2023)
I love to daydream.
Its great escapism and it inspires my songwriting.
This is my version of Dont Stop Believin by Journey.
This is myDont stop dreaming, dont stop at the ceilingmoment.
it’s possible for you to find your power in your imagination and in your dreams.
I wanted it to be super optimistic and uplifting.
It represents self-motivation and exercising the freedom that you have in dreaming.
I needed to dream and I needed to go to other places those desires naturally became a song.
Its a mindset that I adopted during that time and wanted to put out there inQueen of Me.
Ichanged labelswith this album.
There was a refreshing new group of talent that was also feeling this optimism.
I suggested it as the lead single and they didnt need any convincing.
It was actually the opposite.
These new creatives inspired me to hear my music another way.
They gave me more exploration and freedom with the production.
It got more dance-y as a result, which was new for me.
In the 90s, my expectations were pretty modest.
Country music wasnt globally known.
Now, in 2023, I realize more than ever that the skys the limit.
Its quite satisfying and surreal to have the privilege to think that way.
I dont take it for granted at all.
The margin is wide for me.
Having a greatest-hits album, I dont remember what the first song is.
Even that was a triumph.
Because of my voice, there have been many builds along the way.
There were so many things I never expected to happen.
To put it simply: The outcome is just gratitude.
