It’s been nearly four years since country singer Shania Twain sang “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” for the final time as part of her Still the One residency at Caesars Palace. She followed up the residency with a farewell tour and promised it didn’t mean the end of her music career. But after recording the music for what would become her 2017 album Now, she realized she wanted to perform the songs live.
They were important songs, telling the story of her life after breaking up with former husband and producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. She was once again on her own, but for the first time since meeting Lange she was writing an album’s worth of songs without a collaborator. Her 2011 autobiography From This Moment On enabled her to explore personal themes on her own as a songwriter, setting the stage for the songwriting. “There are so many moments in writing this album that were me getting lost in going back in time,” she told ITV in September 2017.
Fifteen years worth of those moments had passed since Twain last recorded an album. During that time, she had raised her son, contracted Lyme disease, lost her voice, divorced and remarried, and published her memoirs. By 2012, she was ready to get back in the saddle both figuratively and literally, riding a horse on the Strip to promote her two-year residency as a headliner. Her voice maintained during the farewell tour and recording session, although her approach to singing had changed to accommodate the nerve damage that she discovered was the source of her voice problems.
Few fans were disappointed by the news she had unretired from touring. Twain kicks off the set list for this tour with “Life’s About To Get Good,” the opening track on Now, and adds several additional songs from her latest album including servicemen’s tribute “Soldier,” reggae-tinged “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed” and her favorite of her new songs, “Poor Me.” Fans dressed donning Shania-style top hats or leopard prints get what they come for when she performs “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” two of close to 20 hits Twain scored in the ’90s and ’00s that she includes in the set.
She eschews midriff-bearing outfits for more glamorous fashions nowadays, but her nights in Vegas may have inspired her to push for the elaborate, futuristic production design that places musicians and dancers at various positions and heights during the show. Twain takes flight in an open guitar case at one point, but her exuberance at getting back onstage soars throughout the show. Twain found both her voice and love again, and while a role opposite John Travolta in upcoming racing film Trading Paint might lead to more acting roles, it’s unlikely she’ll be saying farewell to her music career again any time soon.
MGM Grand, 8 p.m. Aug. 4, starting at $54.95 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
