Shania Twain finds new voice after a troublesome illness
After becoming a global icon and one of the world’s best-selling singers of all time, Shania Twain had to utter the scariest five words a vocalist would ever hear: “I may never sing again.” The queen of country pop contracted Lyme’s disease, which crippled her most prized instrument — her voice — and she thought her singing career was over.
“It can kill you. And if it doesn’t kill you, it can give you a seriously degenerated quality of life for the rest of your life,” she said. It didn’t kill Twain, but the process of finding her voice again was gruesome and trying.
“I had sound like a dying cow for a long time before I was able to really make any sounds that were pleasing at all.”
But Twain, who has persevered since her career launched in 1993, was ready to do the work to rebuild her voice — and her life. She trained with coaches and worked extensively on her vocals, comparing the experience to an athlete recovering from a major injury. Twain tested her voice in various ways in the 17 years in between her last album, 2002’s “Up!,” and her newest effort, “Now.” She sang duets with Lionel Richie and Michael Buble for their own albums; she completed a residency in Las Vegas; and launched a successful U.S. tour, reconnecting with the fans that helped her sell more than 90 million albums worldwide. “I feel triumphant,” said Twain, who will release her new album on Friday. “I just feel like I’ve climbed this huge mountain and I made it to the top . ... And, you know, coming from a time when I really thought I would never record an album again, that I would never tour again, that I would never sing professionally again.
“And now here I am with a whole album. It’s like a small miracle really for me personally.
“I’m different now. I think differently now. I’ve evolved. That’s why I call the album ‘Now.’ This is me now.”