Mercury NashvillePromotion leading up to the release of Shania Twain’s first studio album since 2002’s Up! promised 2017 would usher in the “Summer of Shania.” By the time NOW arrived at the end of September, the Canadian superstar had lived up to the hype.
NOW’s lead single, “Life’s About to Get Good,” proved the country/pop icon could still make music in the classic Shania vein. It even boasted a singing, dancing, beachside video that lived up to the iconic clips that helped cement Shania’s legacy in the ’90s.
With her new music, Shania seemed determined to peel back the curtain to showcase the human side of this once-mysterious musical goddess.
She spoke candidly about the vocal problems that contributed to the long delay between albums. She didn’t hesitate to admit she once thought her only musical future was as a songwriter, and believed she’d never make another record after her divorce from longtime musical collaborator Mutt Lange. Shania even revealed Prince had wanted to produce her new project prior to his death, but she simply wasn’t ready vocally at the time.
Shania made multiple high-profile appearances to promote the album. On her 52nd birthday, she kicked off the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City in August, and even appearing as an exaggerated version of herself on the hip Comedy Central Show Broad City. In October, she served as a guest judge on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. In November, she was brought onstage via a husky-drawn sled to play the halftime show at The Grey Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Football League.
Even without a hit at radio, Shania NOW still managed to debut at #1 in multiple countries around the world upon its release, topping both the country and all-genre charts in the U.S., with Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom following suit.
Fortunately for her fans, in 2017, Shania even reconsidered her proclamation that 2015’s Rock This Country trek would be her last. The 2018 NOW Tour kicks off May 3 in Tacoma, Washington.
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