Shania Twain hailed Taylor Swift an artist who โis working her butt off.โ 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 โmaking the most of lifeโ 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 Twainโs biggest hits of her career, including the title track, โHoney, Iโm Home,โ โThat Donโt Impress Me Muchโ and, of course, โMan! I Feel Like A Woman!,โ to name a few.
During her Haute Living interview, Twain insisted she never โintended on being a trailblazer or anything. I never even realized I would be,โ 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 Twainโs work for country music and for female artists, including Lauren Alaina, Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Swift. Twain said, โI see it as a great compliment when someone calls me a trailblazer, but itโs not like I set out to do so. I was just being myself, and I think thatโs served me very well.โ
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 sheโs proud โthat I had the courage to take risks,โ and said of Swift as she spoke about her own dedication: โThat girl is working her butt off. She is living an exhausting existence, but sheโd dedicated and committed to herself, to her art, and her work. It isnโt even about ambition, though Iโm sure that most people would call her ambitious. Sheโs an extremely hard worker, and Iโm sure sheโs got giant goals. But itโs notย allย about ambition: itโs about passion and committing yourself to your passion. [Like Taylor], I was andย amย someone who does that, and thatโs what really reaps rewards. So, I would say that Iโm most proud of my perseverance, and that I didnโt waste my talents.โ
Swift is gearing up to release her highly-anticipated new studio album, The Tortured Poetโs Department, on Friday (April 19). iHeartRadio is planning iHeartTaylor to mark the albumโs 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 โmaking the most of life,โ including with her recently-debuted pink hair: โIโm getting less and less inhibited as I age. โฆI like to do goofy things. Outside of experimenting with hair color, I would say that I enjoy being fearless โย nothing really scares me. Iโm not worried about wearing a hair color and not pulling it off. Iโm not worried about the backlashโฆ even in my own mirror. Thereโs no wrong thing to experiment with. Youโve just got to have fun โ and being playful makes me feel more youthful.
โYou 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 donโt everย notย do those things; donโt ever lose touch with those very basic, playful moments in your life. Donโt ever have the need to be reunited with that aspect of yourself, because you shouldnโt lose touch with it in the first place.โ