"I was braless... baring my midriff" Shania Twain reflects on her first 'risky' music video 25 years ago

Record ID: 1579884

  • Title: "I was braless... baring my midriff" Shania Twain reflects on her first 'risky' music video 25 years ago
  • Date: 30th September 2020
  • Summary: SWITZERLAND (AUGUST 14, 2020) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SINGER, SHANIA TWAIN SAYING: "It was interesting, it was. They were very clear about the fact that it was potentially offensive to the male audience and certainly to them to a degree, and they thought it would be offensive to women as well. I saw it completely differently. I thought, no, this is going to be encouraging to women. Women need, you know, to know that there are other women out there willing to put themselves on the line to feel liberated and to be able to be self-expressive and, you know, appreciated and respected for what they have to say."
  • Embargoed: 14th October 2020 17:07
  • Keywords: anniversary country music diamond edition music radio shania twain the women in me
  • Location: UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS / SWITZERLAND / LOS ANGELES + UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA + LAS VEGAS, NEVADA + NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS / SWITZERLAND / LOS ANGELES + UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA + LAS VEGAS, NEVADA + NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Music,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA008CXVPR2L
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Without a bra and a bare midriff country star Shania Twain made history with her 1995 album "The Woman in Me." Twenty-five years later the singer is celebrating the album with a diamond edition set to be released on October 2.
    "At the time, I was focused on writing the best songs I could," said Twain.
    "I was focusing on the hurdles of someone being a female in country music. How was I going to express myself, be respected, but still maintain my vision of, of being, you know, feminine and wearing that with confidence?"
    "Any Man of Mine" was the first music video Twain released, which Twain considered "pretty ballsy" at the time considering she had everything to lose.
    "I was braless and, you know, baring my midriff. I wasn't, it wasn't about being naked or anything like that, it was just about feeling liberated and not being under anyone's thumb," said Twain.
    Twain said while her record label and the music industry viewed her music as offensive and risky, she knew it would be encouraging to her female fan base.
    "Women need, you know, to know that there are other women out there willing to put themselves on the line to feel liberated and to be able to be self-expressive and, you know, appreciated and respected for what they have to say."
    The Canadian-born star said when she listens to the album she can hear the intensity and hyper focus in her voice and that it takes her back to where she was when she wrote the songs.
    "One of the funniest things is that 'The Woman In Me,' I remember writing that song, sitting in the audience in a stadium, at a soccer game…in between plays and things you know, I just start writing this song, 'The Woman In Me.' And that's where the song was born. Basically, just waiting for the game to just speed it up a little bit," she said laughing.
    Twain has been spending her time in quarantine at her home in Switzerland producing a new album she said is filled with optimism.
    "I think that, you know, this experience so far with COVID, like all of us, I've gone through and still going through moments of sadness. Basically, every day watching, you know, people that are suffering through it," said Twain who hopes to release the project next spring.
    She is also executive producing and writing the music for the television adaptation of the book series "Heart of Texas" and will also have a small role in the show.
    The Woman in Me: Diamond Edition will include a booklet with never before seen photos and vocals from the original recording sessions and live recordings from 2019.
    In 1997 the album celebrated Diamond status and has sold an estimated 20 million copies worldwide.
    (Production: Alicia Powell)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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