Shania Twain

Before 1990, people would have found it hard to believe that a Canadian singer could become one of the most popular country stars in the United States; including Shania Twain. Nonetheless, she was a part of the country revival in the US in the 1990s and became a hit with her sold-out tour dates. Twain has won five Grammys and became the first non-US citizen to win a Country Music Award. While the artist doesn't have any tour dates in 2011, Shania Twain does have a book and television show releasing soon. The singer has also recently announced that she is working on new music, which hopefully means the announcement of a new album and concert dates in the near future.

Shania Twain was born Eileen Regina Edwards on August 28, 1965, in Windsor, Ontario. Her family was often poor and struggled to keep food in the house, prompting Shania to sing in dive bars at last call for extra cash. After being discovered by a Canadian DJ, Shania Twain spent the next few years singing back-up on various country albums. In 1987 her mother and stepfather died in a car crash and Shania was left to support her siblings, leading her to sing country on tour dates to make ends meet for her and her siblings. While performing regularly at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Twain began sending in country demos which eventually caught the eye of Mercury Nashville Records.

Shania released her debut, self-titled album in 1993 which -- while not a huge commercial success in North America -- gathered a large fan base for the rising star. Even before the release of the album, Twain and producer Robert "Mutt" Lange had been working on songs together that the label refused to put on her debut album. These songs would appear on Twain's 1995 follow-up, The Woman in Me, which launched the vocalist into the mainstream. It also allowed her to headline her first ever tour dates, gaining Shania Twain even more exposure. The album went diamond just before the release of Twain's third album, Come on Over, in 1997. The record not only allowed Twain to break into superstardom, it also broke a lot of other records. Debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200, it surpassed Jagged Little Pill as the best-selling studio album of all time by a female artist, the best-selling country album ever, and is widely regarded as the 11th best-selling album of all time. By this time, Shania Twain was selling out tour dates all over the world, giving her an international base of loyal fans.

While many artists falter after large-scale success, such was not the case with Shania Twain. Her next double album, Up!, was released in 2002 and was received with rave reviews. The album ended up going diamond in the US (diamond twice in Canada) and debuted at #1 on the charts. Other than a Greatest Hits album in 2004, Twain has mysteriously disappeared from the music scene. However, Twain's passion for making music has been rekindled, as she seems serious about the rumors of new songs. Fans disappointed at the lack of tour dates in 2011 might not have to wait long for the premier of new material at concert dates in the future.