What does Shania Twain have in store for her return to headlining in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort? Will she enter Zappos Theater riding a horse at the opening of Let’s Go! The Vegas Residency? Will she pick a few fans to join her onstage and don skirts to dance a can-can to “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” during a Twain Town Saloon segment? Will she perform a Prince cover, or get in the holiday spirit with “White Christmas”?

It’s been 25 years since Twain burst onto the charts with her sophomore album The Woman in Me, changing the course of crossover country with irresistible song hooks and her down-home glamour image. After a childhood characterized by constant struggle and a dud of a debut album, the singer found both professional and personal chemistry with producer Mutt Lange, whose studio wizardry powered AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and Def Leppard’s Pyromania. The meeting of musical souls would “Rock This Country,” as the title of the opening song from her last slate of Let’s Go! shows in Las Vegas suggests.

She scored her first hit single with “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” and became a mainstay on the charts for years after. Her 1997 album Come On Over spawned a succession of tracks that went into heavy rotation on radio, including “From This Moment On,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “You’re Still the One,” all of which were featured in her residency sets before the pandemic. The midriff-baring outfits she wore in her videos made her a sex symbol, but her resounding chart success made her a superstar, and a slew of Grammys cemented her permanent place in the country music firmament.

Life would have more challenges in store for Twain after her success. Her marriage to Lange ended in a 2010 divorce, but a year later she wedded Frédéric Thiébaud, who she is still married to. Vocal hoarseness due to Lyme disease led to a different kind of struggle for Twain after first fearing she’d never sing again. “My voice has changed,” she told People magazine last year. “I have more power when I’m singing now. I have more character, I find. I enjoy singing again.” (The shutdown gave her a chance to rest her vocal cords.)

That’s saying a lot for someone who’s been a working singer since she was a child, performing in Ontario bars after midnight to supplement the family income. Now she has her own stage in Las Vegas that allows her to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and a deep song catalog to draw from. She’s weathered her share of criticism about combining country with pop hooks and videos that emphasize her alluring image, but she says the uplift she gets from fan support far outweighs the stings she’s received from detractors. Her fans inspire her and strengthen her singing, and to them she’s still the one.

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