Shania Twain Far Surpassed Her Childhood Dream Job
Shania Twain is a beloved country music icon today and is known for her electrifying stage performances. But as a child, Twain was terrified of being on stage, and much preferred to be in the background instead of in the spotlight.
Shania Twain had stage fright growing up
Twain reflected on her desire to be a musician in her 2011 memoir From This Moment On.
“I’d never consciously set out to become rich and famous; my goal in music was to please myself by loving the music I sang and wrote, and if I should ever make it, I hoped to be respected as an artist and worthy of a place among the greats. I didn’t yearn to be famous just for the sake of achieving celebrity,” Twain wrote. “Performing wasn’t even so much the main interest for me, as I was still painfully shy onstage. If I had to be up there, I’d have preferred to be a backup singer, not out in front.”
“I wanted to write songs and sing them to myself and around the campfire with my friends and family; the dream was not to be the ‘star.’ The star would perform my songs, and I would sing background vocals. This was my genuine childhood dream: to be behind the scenes, which was clearly where I felt more comfortable, creative, and happy,” she continued.
Her stage fright even led her to lose control of her bladder on stage.
Twain didn’t dream of being a country star
As a teenager, Twain began to gain more confidence in being on stage, and after high school, she toured around Canada with various bands. Still, she would’ve preferred to go unnoticed while on stage.
“I began to come out of my shell with more and more experience, but if I’d had the choice to sit with my back to the audience on the floor, my legs crossed, hovered over my guitar, and still get paid, or to earn a living remaining a backup singer or recording commercial jingles in the studio, I’d have taken that above having to face an audience to perform,” she admitted.
“Just like when I was a kid, I loved harmonizing with other singers and enjoyed the challenge of coming up with individual vocal parts that would blend together seamlessly. Believe it or not, I used to imagine myself happily sitting on a stool in some out-of-the-way coffeehouse, strumming my guitar and singing my own tunes while people chatted quietly and sipped their coffee.”
“I may have ended up in the spotlight, but I actually aspired to be in the background, where I felt safer and more reassured,” she went on. “You see, I didn’t enjoy music for the fact that it brought me attention; I enjoyed it because the music itself brought me pleasure. It took me somewhere else: in my own world within the real world. But as a female singer who was a very average guitarist, the only job I could get making money in music was to be in front as the lead singer. This forced me to be up front, center stage, if I intended to make a living in music.”
“Of course, that’s not exactly the ideal attitude for becoming a ‘star,'” she acknowledged. “Stars are supposed to brim with confidence; they’re bold, beautiful, and shameless. At least, that’s what I thought it took to become a star. That certainly didn’t describe me; nor did I want to become that person. Therefore, my career plan — if there is such a thing in music — was to succeed based on my songwriting and vocal talents, not on my performing ability.”
She eventually became a global superstar
In the end, a star is exactly what Twain became. She eventually moved to Nashville and secured a recording contract in the early 1990s. Her third album, 1997’s Come On Over, made her a household name everywhere thanks to hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much.” The album was certified double-diamond and she toured the world as a successful artist. Her 2002 album Up! also earned diamond certification.
Twain has since performed two Las Vegas residency shows, and in 2017, released her comeback album Now. In 2022, Twain released “Waking Up Dreaming” as a tease of her upcoming sixth studio album.
