Shania Twain hailed Taylor Swift an artist who âis working her butt off.â The country-pop megastar credited Swift as an example as she spoke about dedication and passion in a new interview published on Wednesday (April 17).
Twain spoke with Haute Living about her current âmaking the most of lifeâ era, teased her upcoming Las Vegas residency, delved into the ways she expresses herself through fashion, and reflected on Come On Over more than two decades after releasing the iconic record. Come On Over included some of Twainâs biggest hits of her career, including the title track, âHoney, Iâm Home,â âThat Donât Impress Me Muchâ and, of course, âMan! I Feel Like A Woman!,â to name a few.
During her Haute Living interview, Twain insisted she never âintended on being a trailblazer or anything. I never even realized I would be,â as she broke barriers on country-pop crossovers and skyrocketed to a new level of international success. Haute Living notes just a few other artists whose careers have since benefitted from Twainâs work for country music and for female artists, including Lauren Alaina, Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Swift. Twain said, âI see it as a great compliment when someone calls me a trailblazer, but itâs not like I set out to do so. I was just being myself, and I think thatâs served me very well.â
Twain went on to explain that she felt it necessary to release Come On Over, even when some were skeptical of the blend between genres. She said sheâs proud âthat I had the courage to take risks,â and said of Swift as she spoke about her own dedication: âThat girl is working her butt off. She is living an exhausting existence, but sheâd dedicated and committed to herself, to her art, and her work. It isnât even about ambition, though Iâm sure that most people would call her ambitious. Sheâs an extremely hard worker, and Iâm sure sheâs got giant goals. But itâs not all about ambition: itâs about passion and committing yourself to your passion. [Like Taylor], I was and am someone who does that, and thatâs what really reaps rewards. So, I would say that Iâm most proud of my perseverance, and that I didnât waste my talents.â
Swift is gearing up to release her highly-anticipated new studio album, The Tortured Poetâs Department, on Friday (April 19). iHeartRadio is planning iHeartTaylor to mark the albumâs release date, part of Taylor Swift Week.
Twain looked ahead to her Vegas residency speaking on her empowering state of mind and her outlook on âmaking the most of life,â including with her recently-debuted pink hair: âIâm getting less and less inhibited as I age. âŠI like to do goofy things. Outside of experimenting with hair color, I would say that I enjoy being fearless â nothing really scares me. Iâm not worried about wearing a hair color and not pulling it off. Iâm not worried about the backlash⊠even in my own mirror. Thereâs no wrong thing to experiment with. Youâve just got to have fun â and being playful makes me feel more youthful.
âYou should have the confidence and fearlessness to walk around naked if you want to. If I had any advice to impart on the youth, it would be donât ever not do those things; donât ever lose touch with those very basic, playful moments in your life. Donât ever have the need to be reunited with that aspect of yourself, because you shouldnât lose touch with it in the first place.â