It looks like some people are already receiving their pre-ordered CDs in the mail. I'm not sure where they ordered them from. Maybe directly from Amazon.
Shania Twain album: 'Now' celebrates perseverance, moving on
By Cindy Watts | USA Today | September 27, 2017
Shania Twain’s new album Now isn’t about divorce. It’s about survival.
“Saying it’s about divorce gives divorce too much credit,” said Twain. “I felt overwhelmed by the lack of expressing the mounting layers of disappointment, betrayal, abandonment, destruction, all of those things that have been happening since the day I was born. The divorce was the last straw.”
Twain, a pioneer of today’s pop country, will release her first new studio album in 15 years Friday. Now contains 12 songs — or 16 on the deluxe version — that Twain wrote alone, including its first single Life’s About to Get Good and new song Poor Me. She also co-produced the project, which is an introspective walk through some of her darkest moments including the loss of her voice and her divorce from former husband, famed producer Robert "Mutt" Lange.
“This is about celebrating survival, perseverance, optimism, embracing hope, don’t ignore where you are if it’s dark, but don’t ignore the light at the end of the tunnel, either,” Twain said of Now. “I think if we don’t face our pain we are stuck with it forever.”
Twain’s hesitant return to the recording studio after suffering from vocal paresis began years ago under the diligent insistence of Lionel Richie. Richie wanted Twain to sing on his country duets album Tuskegee, which was released in 2012.
“She walks in and announces to me 15 minutes before we are now to go in and record the song, she can’t do it,” Richie told The Tennessean at the time “I said to her, ‘Let me see you for a minute quietly, away from (everyone),’ so in case anyone saw me choking her to death we couldn’t exactly verify it,” he said, jokingly.
The first note Twain sang on their duet, Endless Love, is the first note she tried to sing in seven years. She said it was one of the greatest moments of her life.
Twain, who has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and is the top-selling female artist in country music history, lost her singing voice years before Lange’s infidelity ended their marriage. From 2002 or 2003 to 2012, Twain said she had no “singing voice she could rely on.”
After recording with Richie, Twain learned her vocal impairment was caused by Lyme disease. Although the disease cost her a decade of her career, she considers herself lucky that it didn’t attack her heart.
Twain felt the stirrings for a new album in 2011. It wasn’t until she completed her two-year residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2014 and followed up with a North American Tour in 2015 that she felt comfortable in the recording studio.
When it came time to start preparing for the album, Twain’s hands-on approach was necessary because the content was so personal.
“It’s important to have a positive influence on whoever still cares about my music and it makes it that much more important to write about things or sing about things that relate to real issues,” she said.
Early in her career, Twain redefined the country music sound and influenced a generation of singers. Many of Twain’s hits including Any Man of Mine, Man! I Feel Like a Woman and Honey, I’m Home preached female empowerment punctuated with rock guitar riffs.
“Shania was such an idol to me because she represented strength and she was sexy while still being classy,” said fellow Canadian country singer Lindsay Ell. “Shania Twain of today isn’t the same woman she was 15 years ago, but I think she’s waded those waters really well.”
Universal Music Group Nashville president Cindy Mabe called Twain's music "a staple of pop culture" and said she "remains a global music icon as important and relevant to the current state of music today as anyone."
Now continues to build on the relationship Twain constructed with women. This time, however, it comes from a different place in her heart.
“I’m feeling more comfortable than ever now in my own skin as a female artist, especially an aging one,” said Twain, 52. “Even if I looked 60 for my age, that’s not what it’s about. The focus for me more than ever is really on … making the most of my life.”
‘Now’ review: Shania Twain returns with triumphant sound
By Glenn Gamboa | Newsday | September 27, 2017
REVIEW 3 1/2 out of 4 stars
SHANIA TWAIN “Now”
BOTTOM LINE The country superstar’s long-awaited return is designed to impress us much.
Welcome to the new Shania Twain.
She would have to be new, right? “Now” (Mercury Nashville) is her first album in 15 years — her first musical statement since she nearly lost her voice to dysphonia, a vocal cord disorder that she contracted along with Lyme disease, and since her very public split from ex-husband and musical collaborator “Mutt” Lange.
But the biggest surprise on “Now,” which Twain wrote on her own, is how well she has come through her struggles.
“I wasn’t just broken, I was shattered,” she sings to start the first single “Life’s About to Get Good,” co-produced with Ron Aniello and Seaford native Matthew Koma. But soon the optimistic track is moving forward with gospel flourishes and catchy na-na-na-na-nas.
For the first time, Twain also gets to show the full range of her artistry in one place, moving from her jazzy approach to “Light of My Life” to the country-rock of “Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl?” to the irresistible, island-tinged pop of “Let’s Kiss and Make Up.” Throughout “Now,” Twain sounds more worldly, more nuanced, like she’s living from this moment on.
Review: Shania Twain is back with the surprising yet frustrating album 'Now'
The country star's taste for adventure is still intact. But her singing has lost its exuberance.
By Mikael Wood | Los Angeles Times | September 27, 2017
Shania Twain enumerates many kinds of loss on “Now,” the first album she’s released since the end of her marriage to producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who helped the artist revolutionize country music in the 1990s with proudly pop-leaning hits like “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”
There’s the loss of innocence she describes in “Poor Me,” which appears to recount Twain’s discovery that her husband was having an affair with her best friend. (“I wish he’d never met her,” she sings, “Then everything would be the way it was.”)
And there’s the loss of trust she says she had to regain before she could love someone else in “Life’s About to Get Good.” (As it happens, that someone else turned out to be her best friend’s former husband.)
But Lange didn’t take everything from her, as “Now” makes clear. On this surprising yet frustrating album, due Friday, Twain shows that her taste for adventure and her commitment to polish remain intact without her longtime collaborator; indeed, it makes the case that the sonic finesse for which Lange was celebrated was likely as much Twain’s doing as his.
Like her mega-selling “Come on Over” and “Up!” albums, “Now” — Twain’s first record since 2002 — cuts a wide stylistic path, veering from rootsy numbers such as “Light of My Life” to windswept ballads like “I’m Alright” to whatever we’ll call the zany “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” which layers a folky acoustic lick over a pulsating tropical-house groove. It all sounds great, too, with contributions from a vast array of players and producers, including Matthew Koma, Jacquire King, guitarist Greg Leisz and fiddler Gabe Witcher.
The problem is Twain’s singing. In interviews she’s said that her traumatic divorce wasn’t the only reason it took her so long to make “Now”; she was also suffering from a temporary loss of her voice related to Lyme disease. When her voice returned, she’s said, it was lower and less flexible than before, and that works out OK in the slower, moodier stuff here.
That’s not the case, though, in the uptempo material, which feels flat and robotic, just as Twain’s performance at this year’s Stagecoach festival did. In her heyday, Twain sang with an exuberance to match her and Lange’s busy, vivid arrangements. But that attitude is sorely lacking from a party song like “More Fun,” in which her exhortation to “get a little crazy and forget what happens later” is about as convincing as an ad in an airline magazine.
It's 720AM Philippine time Sept 28th! Will be up until #ShaniaNOW drops! Will download the remaining 10 tracks that I don't have! 😊
This is crazy waiting for 15 years and now it's only few hours left! So happy! 😁
Apparently according to Casa Twain (who regularly uploads Shania related videos on YouTube and also has a Twitter account) a Canadian fan saw a store selling NOW too early and asked them to pull it. I'm just sharing this photo also apparently taken by the Canadian fan cause even though we may not be able to listen to the full album yet, this is still a beautiful sight! 😍
Shania Twain says confessional new album 'Now' is 'about survival'
The Canadian Press | September 27, 2017
TORONTO — Shania Twain overcame a lot of physical and emotional trauma to make her new album.
On sale Friday, “Now” is her first record in 15 years and comes after upheaval in her personal life, including a 2008 divorce from producer Robert (Mutt) Lange and vocal issues caused by Lyme disease.
Twain says she channelled the strength she gained from her difficult upbringing in Timmins, Ont., where she not only faced poverty but also became the caregiver of her three younger siblings after her parents died in a car crash.
“In fact, a lot of my experiences are coming out in this album, from my childhood,” the country music superstar, whose 2002 album “Up!” was certified 11 times platinum, said in a recent phone interview.
“It’s really all about survival. This album is about surviving a journey … and that’s why the album is called ‘Now,’ because I feel like I’ve just come to a point where I’m recognizing where I am right now and not where I even want to be or where I’m going.”
“Now” is infused with many genres, from country to reggae and rock, as it features a theme of what Twain calls “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The breezy first single, “Life’s About to Get Good,” starts with the lyrics: “I wasn’t just broken, I was shattered.”
“They are all about going from dark to light and sad to happy,” said the five-time Grammy Award winner.
“It’s been a very intense growth over the last five years and my whole life has very been up and down and turbulent, a lot of highs, a lot of lows and I feel that that is all coming out in this album.”
“Poor Me” seems to be the most confessional track with the lyrics, “I wish he’d never met her, then everything would be the way it was … poor me this, poor me that … I still can’t believe that he’d leave me to love her.”
“That’s the farthest on the one side of not being able to see that there’s an end to the story and just that feeling of just allowing yourself to feel sorry for yourself,” said Twain, “and I think that’s necessary too, sometimes, to just say, ‘You know what? I’m just not in a good place,’ and you put your stamp on it.”
This is Twain’s first time writing an album completely on her own. She said she penned most of the tunes in Bahamas because she likes to be isolated while writing.
“I did procrastinate for a while in getting started because I wasn’t sure that I would have the confidence to see it through, and because I am so isolated when I write, I wasn’t very objective about the writing,” she said.
“I was taking a chance doing it on my own, but I just said ‘Well, good or bad I’m going to commit myself to this journey of independence’ and that was it.”
The album is one of many projects Twain has on the go. She’s also planning to tour next year and she’ll be a mentor on CTV’s upcoming music competition series “The Launch.”
Twain and Toronto rapper Drake have both gushed over each other in the past. So, would they ever collaborate?
“He’s a wonderful guy. I like what he does a lot — the world does, of course. But I really appreciate his personality,” said Twain.
“He’s a gentleman, he’s very sweet. He’s very communicative with the audience, which I admire a lot, at his age and stuff like that. I’d love to collaborate with him. I could totally see that. We have a mutual respect for each other and he’s just great.”
Yeah! Lucky them. As for me, my pre-ordered "NOW" CD is just being shipped today according to Amazon.
Mine shows the same... My original plan was to just drive to Target Friday morning and buy the CD. BUT I decided to order from Amazon because (1) I'll use the Apple Music version to listen on Friday morning anyway and (2) the price was probably cheaper from Amazon. Anyway my experience pre-ordering from Amazon has been BAD. I pre-ordered Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits in November of 2015 and waited a whole week before I complained to Amazon. Of course they sent the CD to me right away. The original pre-ordered CD came in the mail sometime in the spring. So it was delayed by months.
Anyway if they plan on getting the CD here Friday, I would have expected to see it changed to "shipped" on Amazon today. Hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation.
__________________
"I'm a maker of love songs! A chanteuse!" - Shannie
Yeah! Lucky them. As for me, my pre-ordered "NOW" CD is just being shipped today according to Amazon.
Mine shows the same... My original plan was to just drive to Target Friday morning and buy the CD. BUT I decided to order from Amazon because (1) I'll use the Apple Music version to listen on Friday morning anyway and (2) the price was probably cheaper from Amazon. Anyway my experience pre-ordering from Amazon has been BAD. I pre-ordered Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits in November of 2015 and waited a whole week before I complained to Amazon. Of course they sent the CD to me right away. The original pre-ordered CD came in the mail sometime in the spring. So it was delayed by months.
Anyway if they plan on getting the CD here Friday, I would have expected to see it changed to "shipped" on Amazon today. Hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation.
Wow.... Now that kinda makes me worried now... To be honest, I've ordered many things from Amazon over the years for the past decade pretty much, and have never really had a bad experience with Amazon. But I sure hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation. As of right now, it says my CD is preparing for shipment, and that it will arrive Friday.
I'm gonna be so pissed if I have to wait months for a pre-ordered CD to come in the mail, let alone a week for that matter, especially if the release date has already come and gone.
-- Edited by ShaniaFanSince03 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 11:02:53 PM
Yeah! Lucky them. As for me, my pre-ordered "NOW" CD is just being shipped today according to Amazon.
Mine shows the same... My original plan was to just drive to Target Friday morning and buy the CD. BUT I decided to order from Amazon because (1) I'll use the Apple Music version to listen on Friday morning anyway and (2) the price was probably cheaper from Amazon. Anyway my experience pre-ordering from Amazon has been BAD. I pre-ordered Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits in November of 2015 and waited a whole week before I complained to Amazon. Of course they sent the CD to me right away. The original pre-ordered CD came in the mail sometime in the spring. So it was delayed by months.
Anyway if they plan on getting the CD here Friday, I would have expected to see it changed to "shipped" on Amazon today. Hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation.
Wow.... Now that kinda makes me worried now... To be honest, I've ordered many things from Amazon over the years for the past decade pretty much, and have never really had a bad experience with Amazon. But I sure hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation. As of right now, it says my CD is preparing for shipment, and that it will arrive Friday.
I'm gonna be so pissed if I have to wait months for a pre-ordered CD to come in the mail, let alone a week for that matter, especially if the release date has already come and gone.
-- Edited by ShaniaFanSince03 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 10:07:07 PM
I cancelled my Amazon pre-order as the arrival date was Oct 3rd. And to make it worst, I pre-ordered it under Amazon Prime. I'll just stop in at Walmart on my way home from work on Friday. I'll already have my iTunes copy to get me by. On another note, I did receive an e-mail from Ticketmaster saying that the albums included with ticket purchased have been shipped but with no arrival date.
‘NOW’ Review: Shania Twain Tells Her Story Her Way
By Barry Mazor | The Wall Street Journal | September 26, 2017
Shania Twain’s “NOW,” set for release Friday, is her first new album in nearly 15 years. She has remained, right through that prolonged hiatus, the highest-selling female country artist of all time, with over 100 million albums sold world-wide. But the context has changed dramatically in her life, and in music, since the 2002 release of her album “Up!”
Ms. Twain has struggled with dysphonia, a vocal-cord disorder that makes speech, let alone singing, difficult; and has seen the end of her marriage to rock producer Mutt Lange. He had played a large role in shaping the albums of that 1995-2002 run when her music was ubiquitous, including such cheeky, hook-heavy hits as “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “You’re Still the One” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much.” Many will recall those singles as steamy, rule-breaking country videos, a testament, in part, to cable-TV video supremacy in that era. But if fans are checking out Ms. Twain’s eye-catching, sometimes comic new video “Life’s About to Get Good,” it’s likely they are doing so online—via outlets that don’t necessarily provide equivalent impact.
Both her fans—many of them excited as young women by her celebrations of womanhood and her brash rebukes to overbearing men—and those who were skeptical about the synthesizer-laden dance-music sounds the Twain-Lange team brought into country will be wondering, “Now—what?”
This return album reaches listeners as Ms. Twain reports having come to terms with the vocal disorder, in part by singing in a somewhat lower register—audible, but not dramatically different. And as for the sounds of this album, and the points she makes in the songs, there’s no doubt that they’re exactly what she wants them to be. If it was commonly suggested during her hit run that the sounds and video images were manipulative concoctions developed by Mr. Lange, and Ms. Twain was merely his puppet, that charge is certainly well-debunked now.
As the songwriter and shot-caller here, she is singularly responsible for the album’s sounds and pointed commentary on her own experiences. That “Life’s About to Get Good” video features her trashing a photo of Mr. Lange, who’d left her for her best friend—a subject taken on acerbically there and in “Poor Me,” but clearly painful in the haunted ballad “Where Do You Think You’re Going,” included on the four-track-longer “Deluxe” version of the album. Recovered and happily remarried, she is presented that way in “I’m Alright.” Ms. Twain was writing songs reflective of her own experiences before stardom, to a degree in those hits records, too, but never more so than on “NOW.”
Some of the new songs are as acoustic as fans of “stripped down” country could want; “Soldier,” directed at a departing serviceman, is a moving, melodic example. (“Don’t close the door when you leave. It’s cold out; I want to see the air when you breathe.”) The once-controversial Twain dance-music style is still in the mix, in such thumpers as “You Can’t Buy Love” and “Roll Me on the River,” with instrumentation, percussion and vocals cleaner and clearer than in the Lange-produced sessions because the digital-music tools—so familiar today that they should shock no one—have improved. The bulk of the album splits the difference between thump and acoustic, with roots-friendly pop often influenced by Celt folk-rock.
The autobiographical stories can be both witty and catchy. In “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” another deluxe track, she suggests, to an infectious melody, “Let’s be open; we’re not broken—not yet!” In “Poor Me,” mocking self-pity with a country-style joke, she sings, “Still can’t believe he’d leave me to love her; so pour me—another.”
The degree of directness on display at times comes as something of a surprise. Temperamentally reserved, more inclined to reveal her midriff than her feelings, Ms. Twain had often used jokes, heavy beats or visual distractions to avoid direct emotional engagement with the situations she raises. But if maturity has brought added directness, often claimed as the country-music ideal, floating above the emotions also has some precedent. “Shania Twain: Rock This Country,” an exhibit running at the Country Hall of Fame and Museum through July 15, 2018, traces her career from obscurity and poverty in Northern Ontario to world stages, focusing especially on the attention-riveting outfits seen in her hit videos and live performances: the black-tie and top-hat suit from “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” The leopard-print hoodie from “Come On Over.” The black-lace and leather motorcycle outfit from “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!” On the same floor is “ Loretta Lynn : Blue Kentucky Girl,” revealing an unstated parallel: Ms. Lynn’s celebrated feistiness toward mistreatment, even anger, has always been encased behind a wry smile, her own sort of emotional floating. At this point, Ms. Twain’s similar approach to feisty material might even be seen as traditional.
The new “NOW” album may still not prove enticing for those who find any evidence of production at all “too much,” or for the thin-skinned put off by barbed comments about the male of the species, but for everyone else there is much to enjoy and admire here. Ms. Twain’s nicely varying sound choices and the considered experience behind the sentiments could prove revealing to a new 21st-century audience.
—Mr. Mazor, based in Nashville, reviews country and roots music for the Journal.
I just want to say, while we're still in this week, Shania release week, we should continue to enjoy this excitement and this anticipation that we all have for "NOW", cause this is the moment we've been waiting for, for what seems like forever! It just breaks my heart saying how many years it's been since Shania last released a new studio album! *cough* 15 years... *cough* So while we're still hours away from holding this new Shania Twain album/CD in our hands and having this new Shania Twain music in our ears for the first time, let's keep up the excitement, the anticipation, and even the suspense, as we get on our way and get ready to press play on that new Shania Twain CD for the first time, to listen to it in it's entirety in all it's Shania glory, The FUTURE is NOW! Shania Twain is Officially Back!!!! 😊
I just want to say, while we're still in this week, Shania release week, we should continue to enjoy this excitement and this anticipation that we all have for "NOW", cause this is the moment we've been waiting for, for what seems like forever! It just breaks my heart saying how many years it's been since Shania last released a new studio album! *cough* 15 years... *cough* So while we're still hours away from holding this new Shania Twain album/CD in our hands and having this new Shania Twain music in our ears for the first time, let's keep up the excitement, the anticipation, and even the suspense, as we get on our way and get ready to press play on that new Shania Twain CD for the first time, to listen to it in it's entirety in all it's Shania glory, The FUTURE is NOW! Shania Twain is Officially Back!!!! 😊
I can't wait. I still vividly remember listening to "Come On Over" all the way through for the first time... I was immediately in love. I can't wait to do the same with "NOW". I have been waiting literally half of my life for this release!
-- Edited by MikelAS86 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 11:14:53 PM
I just want to say, while we're still in this week, Shania release week, we should continue to enjoy this excitement and this anticipation that we all have for "NOW", cause this is the moment we've been waiting for, for what seems like forever! It just breaks my heart saying how many years it's been since Shania last released a new studio album! *cough* 15 years... *cough* So while we're still hours away from holding this new Shania Twain album/CD in our hands and having this new Shania Twain music in our ears for the first time, let's keep up the excitement, the anticipation, and even the suspense, as we get on our way and get ready to press play on that new Shania Twain CD for the first time, to listen to it in it's entirety in all it's Shania glory, The FUTURE is NOW! Shania Twain is Officially Back!!!! 😊
I can't wait. I still vividly remember listening to "Come On Over" all the way through for the first time... I was immediately in love. I can't wait to do the same with "NOW". I have been waiting literally half of my life for this release!
-- Edited by MikelAS86 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 11:14:53 PM
Same! I can't wait either!!! I'm probably not one of the older fans here, as I got into Shania's music in 2003. I remember pretty much my whole story about how I became a Shania Twain fan and everything I've been through that is surprisingly Shania related, as she truly was the soundtrack of my childhood! It's kind of a long story though how I got into Shania, and how I discovered her music for the first time, but back in 2003, I can definitely thank CMT for that, as I really got into watching country music videos on CMT every morning, and one artist's videos stood out for me, that was Shania Twain.
Back during the Summer of 2003, CMT played 3 different Shania Twain videos more than any other, that I remember, and these videos were "Forever and For Always" (my personal favorite Shania Twain song), "I'm Gonna Getcha Good", and "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!". It was also around this time that I found out about the Shania Twain UP! Live In Chicago concert special was gonna air on TV, and I remember recording that back on my grandma's old VCR, lol. I became truly obsessed with Shania after watching that concert, and for months I would always watch CMT or VH1 Country just to see if they would play any Shania videos, especially ones I hadn't seen yet, which I would also record those too, if given the chance.
When Christmas time rolled around, I remember asking my grandma for 2 Shania Twain CDs for Christmas, which before I got into Shania, I never really asked for music CDs or anything like that for either a birthday or a Christmas present, but Shania changed all that for me, cause when I found out about Shania's albums "Come On Over" (which was said to be the best selling album by a female artist of all time), and "UP!" (her newest CD at the time, which included my personal favorite Shania song "Forever and For Always") I knew what I wanted for Christmas, and nothing else mattered.
I remember listening to both of those CDs for the first time, right before Christmas, I might add, cause I was too desperate, I couldn't wait until Christmas morning to open them, lol. But when I listened to UP! for the first time, I was in love. I actually thought the title track for UP! was a great opener for the album, and I was actually surprised by how a few of the songs sounded on that album, like "Juanita" for example, it had this latin vibe, I thought, and I was like, this is awesome! Long story short, I was in love! 😍
Now fast forward 14 years later, and now I'm gonna probably be experiencing the same feeling as I did back then in 2003, as a young boy, when I listen to "NOW" for the first time in just mere hours from now. It's always a good feeling when you listen to a new CD by one of your favorite artists for the first time. Just as Shania said in a recent interview, it feels like Christmas is coming, and this is so exciting! Christmas came early this year, that's for sure! I too have been waiting half of my life for this release! 😁
Shania just did a instagram live video on the James Corden show, and she told fans to start requesting SWMEC at radio. I thought it wasn't sent to radio?
Shania Twain is the highest selling female country artist of all time and has a brand new album that will impress you much. No marketing gimmicks, just great songs.
Music Love | September 26, 2017
It's been fifteen years since Shania Twain released her last studio album Up. This was of course after the phenomenal success of 1997's Come On Over. And now twenty years on, Shania is back with a brilliant album called Now. It's out tomorrow and fans from all over will be happy to learn that her country/pop brand of music is right on the money. You would have already heard Life's About to Get Better, and three other tracks that show the strength and vibe of the album. But there is still more gold to be discovered when it hits the shelves and your screens come Friday 29 September.
Featuring a country balanced recipe of fun, attitude, inspiration, simplicity, accessibility and reflection, Shania's Queen of Country crown will remain firmly on her head, that is for sure. So get your ears across it and indulge in America's finest sounds and productions with melody and hooks, guitar licks and wonderful piano sounds, warm background vocals and of course Shania's gutsy familiar, and inviting vocal chops taking the lead. All of this, of course, topped with that wonderful comforting, thoughtful production and gloss that makes premium country music so brilliant. Actually, Shania co-produced the entire album, and has writing and production credits on each song. The woman is owning it in the best way possible. Keep your ears out for a couple of stand out tunes, More Fun, Poor Me and Soldier. But we better not start listing too many songs - they are all good.
Oh, and it must be said, it is refreshing to have zero marketing gimmicks and stunts - Now is just purely about the music. Young people, get off Instagram, this is how you do it.
Shania just did a instagram live video on the James Corden show, and she told fans to start requesting SWMEC at radio. I thought it wasn't sent to radio?
She also mentioned that there will be a Facebook live at 1030
Shania just did a instagram live video on the James Corden show, and she told fans to start requesting SWMEC at radio. I thought it wasn't sent to radio?
She also mentioned that there will be a Facebook live at 1030
OMG my dears! Here we are!
In a couple of hours ours Shania fans friends from New Zeeland will catch their copies!
I'm so happy NO LEAKS in these hours!
I don't care how much I can be disappointed from previews, I am so thrilled right now!
I remember the time I bought Come on over back in 1998 and Shania Twain/The woman in me in September 2002!
2 months later, UP! was comin'!
OMG, I was so thrilled to live the "countdown moment" as much as I am today!
And I so excited to push PLAY and listen NOW as a whole piece of record, 12 songs in a row ;)
And to have a brand new booklet and some new words from our Queen!
OMG my dears! Here we are! In a couple of hours ours Shania fans friends from New Zeeland will catch their copies! I'm so happy NO LEAKS in these hours! I don't care how much I can be disappointed from previews, I am so thrilled right now! I remember the time I bought Come on over back in 1998 and Shania Twain/The woman in me in September 2002! 2 months later, UP! was comin'! OMG, I was so thrilled to live the "countdown moment" as much as I am today!
And I so excited to push PLAY and listen NOW as a whole piece of record, 12 songs in a row ;) And to have a brand new booklet and some new words from our Queen!
Less than 24 hours here in Italy!!!
1.5 hours for NZ
4.5 hours for Australia
6.5 hours left for us in the Philippines! I am going CRAAZZZZY!!!
I can't breathe!!! iTunes in Philippines - currently downloading. So early, it is just 10PM, Sept. 28th.
How is it? Hope youre loving it :)
So far my favorites- Home Now, Whose Gonna Be Your Girl, I'm Alright, Let's Kiss And Make Up, Roll Me On The River, You Can't Buy Love, Soldier, All In All ❤️🎶
Home Now Who's gonna be your girl More fun Because of you (album favourite so far, love the lyrics and the lullaby sound to it; shame it's not included on the standard version)
Song to skip for now: All in All
-- Edited by LJ-R on Thursday 28th of September 2017 11:30:52 AM
The country icon’s first full project in 15 years digs deep into her personal tragedy
By Chris Parton | Nashville Scene | September 28, 2017
Shania Twain returns to the public eye in striking confessional fashion this week. Her new album, Now, is a truly raw and revealing record from a pop-country icon, and one that invites fans inside her proverbial circle of trust. Now, a passion project born out of personal devastation and recovery, is only the fifth studio album of Twain’s career, and it’s been a long time coming. She’s been working on the project for at least four years, pushing back its release date many times as she sought to write every track alone, find a suitable production team and rehab her singing voice after it was nearly stolen by Lyme disease.
But what emerged marks a new chapter for the often-reclusive artist. Twain opens up with details about her high-profile divorce and its aftermath, embraces a silver lining and gives her signature sound a full makeover, aiming it toward both longtime fans and a new generation. It’s tempting to describe her new tunes as “soulful,” but the reality is that Twain’s music has never been this dark before, and that’s what makes it interesting. While tracks like the first single “Life’s About to Get Good” and its follow-up “Swinging With My Eyes Closed” are rooted in familiar positivity, it’s others like the deceptively titled “I’m Alright” that stand out for their brutal honesty. The song’s opening lines cut straight to the moment Twain’s ex-husband and former producer Robert “Mutt” Lange informed her of the affair he’d been having with Twain’s best friend:
“You let me go / You had to have her / You told me slow / I died faster / You said take care / Don’t be sad girl / Life’s not fair / It’s a mad world / But I’m not mad / I’ve already / Downed that pill.”
Likewise, the piano ballad “Where Do You Think You’re Going” is filled with conflicting emotions and delivered in a raspy voice that conjures memories of tragic soul-pop star Amy Winehouse. Delicate, vulnerable and challenging all at once, it seems to live in limbo between disbelief and acceptance. “In case you never look back,” Twain begins, “I want you to know that / You were loved like mad / I hope you live long enough / To change your mind.”
But while the breakup details are sharp — and juicy — elsewhere Twain’s resiliency shines. She sounds downright relieved in the bouncy “Home Now,” and the quirky groover “Let’s Kiss and Make Up” shows that she hasn’t given up on love. (Since 2011, Twain has been married to Swiss businessman Frédéric Thiébaud, who was previously married to the aforementioned former best friend.)
All throughout the 12 songs (16 on Now’s deluxe edition), Twain toys with one new sound after another. She co-produced with a team of four non-country studio guides — Ron Aniello, Jake Gosling, Jacquire King and Matthew Koma — working to pair elements of her massive mid-’90s hits with country’s new-school diversity.
The opening strains of “Swinging With My Eyes Closed,” for example, will remind many of “Any Man of Mine,” and that’s probably why it was chosen as the second single. Meanwhile, the fiddles and stomp-clap country-rock motif Twain used to perfection back in the day return for cameos throughout the album. But for better or worse, it’s the infusion of electropop, Euro-club beats and even slow-burning dancehall reggae that define Twain’s new sound.
If that seems out of character, just remember that this is what put Twain on the map in the first place: combining the trendy with the tried-and-true. Even so, there will likely be plenty of armchair criticism aimed at the sonic approach, as well as the lack of huge, instant-classic hooks — as if those were easy to come by. But there’s nothing left for the singer to achieve commercially, and that doesn’t appear to be what Twain is going for with Now. The days of selling 40 million copies of an album like Come On Over are long gone anyway, so mark this as a legendary artist looking to prove her own creative worth — to herself as much as anyone else.
Still, it’s hard not to measure anything new Twain does against the monumental success of her past. She set the bar for pop in pop country, and sent the genre on the path of expansion it still follows today. But the format has moved on since her time in the spotlight, and an entire generation has passed — seriously, it’s been 20 years.
It would be folly to compare Now to her early work. Instead, think of this as an artist without much to gain, who’s always been sensitive to the spotlight, stepping up to share something deeply personal. Like it or not, that takes guts.
The country icon’s first full project in 15 years digs deep into her personal tragedy
By Chris Parton | Nashville Scene | September 28, 2017
Shania Twain returns to the public eye in striking confessional fashion this week. Her new album, Now, is a truly raw and revealing record from a pop-country icon, and one that invites fans inside her proverbial circle of trust. Now, a passion project born out of personal devastation and recovery, is only the fifth studio album of Twain’s career, and it’s been a long time coming. She’s been working on the project for at least four years, pushing back its release date many times as she sought to write every track alone, find a suitable production team and rehab her singing voice after it was nearly stolen by Lyme disease.
But what emerged marks a new chapter for the often-reclusive artist. Twain opens up with details about her high-profile divorce and its aftermath, embraces a silver lining and gives her signature sound a full makeover, aiming it toward both longtime fans and a new generation. It’s tempting to describe her new tunes as “soulful,” but the reality is that Twain’s music has never been this dark before, and that’s what makes it interesting. While tracks like the first single “Life’s About to Get Good” and its follow-up “Swinging With My Eyes Closed” are rooted in familiar positivity, it’s others like the deceptively titled “I’m Alright” that stand out for their brutal honesty. The song’s opening lines cut straight to the moment Twain’s ex-husband and former producer Robert “Mutt” Lange informed her of the affair he’d been having with Twain’s best friend:
“You let me go / You had to have her / You told me slow / I died faster / You said take care / Don’t be sad girl / Life’s not fair / It’s a mad world / But I’m not mad / I’ve already / Downed that pill.”
Likewise, the piano ballad “Where Do You Think You’re Going” is filled with conflicting emotions and delivered in a raspy voice that conjures memories of tragic soul-pop star Amy Winehouse. Delicate, vulnerable and challenging all at once, it seems to live in limbo between disbelief and acceptance. “In case you never look back,” Twain begins, “I want you to know that / You were loved like mad / I hope you live long enough / To change your mind.”
But while the breakup details are sharp — and juicy — elsewhere Twain’s resiliency shines. She sounds downright relieved in the bouncy “Home Now,” and the quirky groover “Let’s Kiss and Make Up” shows that she hasn’t given up on love. (Since 2011, Twain has been married to Swiss businessman Frédéric Thiébaud, who was previously married to the aforementioned former best friend.)
All throughout the 12 songs (16 on Now’s deluxe edition), Twain toys with one new sound after another. She co-produced with a team of four non-country studio guides — Ron Aniello, Jake Gosling, Jacquire King and Matthew Koma — working to pair elements of her massive mid-’90s hits with country’s new-school diversity.
The opening strains of “Swinging With My Eyes Closed,” for example, will remind many of “Any Man of Mine,” and that’s probably why it was chosen as the second single. Meanwhile, the fiddles and stomp-clap country-rock motif Twain used to perfection back in the day return for cameos throughout the album. But for better or worse, it’s the infusion of electropop, Euro-club beats and even slow-burning dancehall reggae that define Twain’s new sound.
If that seems out of character, just remember that this is what put Twain on the map in the first place: combining the trendy with the tried-and-true. Even so, there will likely be plenty of armchair criticism aimed at the sonic approach, as well as the lack of huge, instant-classic hooks — as if those were easy to come by. But there’s nothing left for the singer to achieve commercially, and that doesn’t appear to be what Twain is going for with Now. The days of selling 40 million copies of an album like Come On Over are long gone anyway, so mark this as a legendary artist looking to prove her own creative worth — to herself as much as anyone else.
Still, it’s hard not to measure anything new Twain does against the monumental success of her past. She set the bar for pop in pop country, and sent the genre on the path of expansion it still follows today. But the format has moved on since her time in the spotlight, and an entire generation has passed — seriously, it’s been 20 years.
It would be folly to compare Now to her early work. Instead, think of this as an artist without much to gain, who’s always been sensitive to the spotlight, stepping up to share something deeply personal. Like it or not, that takes guts.
I Now must say, I think I like that guy who wrote that article, Chris Parton! Spilling truth tea like nobody's business!
I like his perspective on Shania's official comeback to the spotlight and the music industry as a whole with a whole new album of all new songs, written by her herself, no one else! It is so very true, sadly the 90's is over and is in the past! So it's best to try not to expect Shania to continuously keep producing big catchy blockbuster hit after hit! I mean, it would be cool and all if she did, but unfortunately the music industry today is nothing like it was 20 or even 15 years ago. Things have changed so much since then!
I do applaud Shania on writing a whole album on her own though and sharing her story with us, her fans, through her songs, and not only that, but new songs that is! I'm sure this album is still going to become a classic Shania album in the future! From all the reviews I've read about it so far, most of them are either completely and fully positive or there is a mixed reaction, but not really anything completely and utterly negative, yet. Let's hope it stays that way!
I just checked on my CD on Amazon, and even clicked on NOW (Deluxe Edition)'s page on there, and the price went up like 2 dollars. I guess the pre-order price is cheaper than the actual price.
Anyways, on the bright side, Amazon says my CD has been shipped and it should arrive tomorrow. :)
JUST ANNOUNCED!!! Shania Twain returns to Barnes & Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles on Friday September 29th at 6pm to sign her new album NOW. NOW is Shania's first new studio album in 15 years and she wants to celebrate with you!
Yeah! Lucky them. As for me, my pre-ordered "NOW" CD is just being shipped today according to Amazon.
Mine shows the same... My original plan was to just drive to Target Friday morning and buy the CD. BUT I decided to order from Amazon because (1) I'll use the Apple Music version to listen on Friday morning anyway and (2) the price was probably cheaper from Amazon. Anyway my experience pre-ordering from Amazon has been BAD. I pre-ordered Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits in November of 2015 and waited a whole week before I complained to Amazon. Of course they sent the CD to me right away. The original pre-ordered CD came in the mail sometime in the spring. So it was delayed by months.
Anyway if they plan on getting the CD here Friday, I would have expected to see it changed to "shipped" on Amazon today. Hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation.
Wow.... Now that kinda makes me worried now... To be honest, I've ordered many things from Amazon over the years for the past decade pretty much, and have never really had a bad experience with Amazon. But I sure hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation. As of right now, it says my CD is preparing for shipment, and that it will arrive Friday.
I'm gonna be so pissed if I have to wait months for a pre-ordered CD to come in the mail, let alone a week for that matter, especially if the release date has already come and gone.
-- Edited by ShaniaFanSince03 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 11:02:53 PM
Just checked my status and it says it's arrived in my city. So should be out for delivery tomorrow - thank goodness!
Also, to be fair, that was the only really bad experience I've had from Amazon - it just happened to be for a pre-ordered CD I was desperately waiting for, haha. I've also pre-ordered a LeAnn Rimes CD that kept getting delayed, but that was either LeAnn's or Curb's doing (not Amazon's fault). Anyway all seems well here. Hope your CD is on its way! Can't wait to listen tonight!
__________________
"I'm a maker of love songs! A chanteuse!" - Shannie
By Nelson Branco | 24 Hours Toronto | September 28, 2017
A lot has changed in 15 years.
And we’ve had to endure the world evolving without one of the sexiest, soulful and strongest voices in our country soothing us.
But today that is all rectified when Shania Twain’s much-anticipated album, Now, drops.
It’s her fifth studio offering in a breakout career that has spanned decades.
After all, the Windsor and Timmons, Ontario native was a goldmine: The top-selling female country artist of all time sold more than 100 million records in the 90s and 00s. She’s also the only woman in history to score three Diamond-certified albums (The Woman In Me, Come on Over and one of the biggest selling albums ever, Up). Her style, voice and feminist lyrics became a part of the zeitgeist.
Not bad for a small-town Canadian girl named Eilleen Regina Edwards.
So why did the five-time Grammy winner drop out of sight and stop making music?
You can blame an 8-year battle with Lyme Disease and dysphonia, a vocal-cord disorder, as well as her decision to take some time to recover from the messy divorce from her husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange after 15 years of marriage. Turned out Mutt allegedly had an affair with Shania’s BFF, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. (She’s now happily married to Marie-Anne’s cuckolded handsome ex-hubby Frederic Thiebaud; they wed in 2011 in Puerto Rico.)
“I needed time,” the vegetarian tells 24 Hours exclusively. “But I’m back now. This album feels like closure for me. It’s one of those things when you know that you’re ready. It’s been a work in progress for a while. It came to a point where I wanted a new beginning, new phase. I just knew it was time.”
Fifteen years is a long time to be out of the music world. Social media and streaming are new realities artists must contend and utilize. Is Shania worried, ready?
She relays, “I was more nervous about embarking on the project in the first place. Diving in and committing myself to it was a bit scary. But now that I’m done with the process, I feel very relieved and anxious for the fans to hear it.”
Her creative process remained unchanged from her earlier days in the recording studio, she admits.
The creative genesis of Now turned out to be a mixture of classic/modern country and pop – a hybrid she helped create and cement back in the 90s.
“My process always starts with songwriting. At that stage, I’m not thinking about creativity,” she explains. “I’m more about expressing myself at that point before I move into songwriting. A lot of the ideas come from my life and the inspiration around me. Then, it’s time to move things into a more sensical, more relatable music. That’s when I’m thinking more about tempo, mood, instrumentation and production and all those things. The main inspiration is personal experience.”
Don’t dare ask Shania which new song is her favourite because it’s a Sophie’s Choice.
“I love them all for different reasons,” she exclaims. “ It’s like being a mother. A personal fave of mine is All in All. It’s a fun song. I really love the way I was able to capture the personal sentiment and my philosophical views on life. There’s another song that I like to play over and over again which gets me every time and makes me emotional and it’s called Soldier. It’s hard for me to choose one over the other.”
As for social media, she’s a pro thanks to a very special person. “Although I haven’t come out with an album in a while, I’m still apart of life [laughs]! I have a 15-year-old son, Eja! I’ve grown up with the process of technology and social media from the moment I had my son. It’s not a shock at all.”
Thanks to the Women’s March this past January, Shania’s iconic, Man! I Feel Like A Woman became popular again. Surprisingly, the super hit didn’t seem dated; the accidental revival cemented its status as a classic and it's now become a renewed anthem for feminism.
Why does Shania’s music library still resonate with the masses?
She’s not sure. “I didn’t intellectualize how a song like Man! I Feel Like A Woman would impact society. At the moment, I’m taking that as a compliment. It just adds to the new music I’m producing.”
Like Madonna, one of the reasons Shania’s music is universal is because she experiments with and marries various genres, styles and sounds.
“I’ve always been into multi-genres,” Twain confirms. “I’ve always melded my own music to various, diverse musical influences and styles. Everything from The Eagles to Stevie Wonder to The Carpenters to ABBA – you know, all over the place, really [laughs]! And then, the whole 80s rock movement happened -- and that was a big influence for me in my young adult years.
Which is why you would be hard-pressed to define Shania.
She concurs, "I don’t really know what I am sometimes because I’m a mutt when it comes to influences. I mean, I’m so diverse. I’m also a singer, writer, artist so that makes me a bit folky too. I can kind of make music on my own without production. I try to avoid trendy songwriting. I always end up going back to my earlier, diverse musical interests when I’m writing.”
So does she think country music has evolved in the almost two decades she’s been M.I.A? Since then, artists like Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert have made country more mainstream.
She theorizes, “Listen, it wouldn’t be fun if we just had one style of music. Diversity is important. The distinctions that make country different than any genre should be celebrated; it’s wonderful. There is always all going to be – not for the sake of stigma – country music but there will also be artists who bridge those gaps. It depends where we are in music history too. It’s all a moving target, to be honest”
If a musical comeback wasn’t enough to get fans excited, Shania -- who was rumoured as a possible judge on the rebooted American Idol -- has joined CTV’s new musical competition series, The Launch, as a mentor. She’ll be joined by the boldface likes of Fergie, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and music mogul Scott Borchetta to help burgeoning artists by sharing their collective experience and wisdom.
And just like that, with the world seemingly falling apart, we all feel a bit safer with Shania’s voice in our earbuds to distract us from the chaos.
Laughing, she says, “Well, there has to be optimism in there somewhere!”
And with news she’s touring – “I’ll be doing Canada, for sure – dancing through life just became easier and more fun.
Yeah! Lucky them. As for me, my pre-ordered "NOW" CD is just being shipped today according to Amazon.
Mine shows the same... My original plan was to just drive to Target Friday morning and buy the CD. BUT I decided to order from Amazon because (1) I'll use the Apple Music version to listen on Friday morning anyway and (2) the price was probably cheaper from Amazon. Anyway my experience pre-ordering from Amazon has been BAD. I pre-ordered Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits in November of 2015 and waited a whole week before I complained to Amazon. Of course they sent the CD to me right away. The original pre-ordered CD came in the mail sometime in the spring. So it was delayed by months.
Anyway if they plan on getting the CD here Friday, I would have expected to see it changed to "shipped" on Amazon today. Hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation.
Wow.... Now that kinda makes me worried now... To be honest, I've ordered many things from Amazon over the years for the past decade pretty much, and have never really had a bad experience with Amazon. But I sure hope we don't end up with a Tracy Chapman situation. As of right now, it says my CD is preparing for shipment, and that it will arrive Friday.
I'm gonna be so pissed if I have to wait months for a pre-ordered CD to come in the mail, let alone a week for that matter, especially if the release date has already come and gone.
-- Edited by ShaniaFanSince03 on Wednesday 27th of September 2017 11:02:53 PM
Just checked my status and it says it's arrived in my city. So should be out for delivery tomorrow - thank goodness!
Also, to be fair, that was the only really bad experience I've had from Amazon - it just happened to be for a pre-ordered CD I was desperately waiting for, haha. I've also pre-ordered a LeAnn Rimes CD that kept getting delayed, but that was either LeAnn's or Curb's doing (not Amazon's fault). Anyway all seems well here. Hope your CD is on its way! Can't wait to listen tonight!
Yeah it is on it's way! it finally says my CD has been shipped. It doesn't say it is in my city yet, but I'm not too worried about it, as long as it gets in my city before the end of the day, I'm alright! Besides it says it just left the facility in a city that's in one of my neighboring states so it would be ridiculous if I don't get it tomorrow. I can't wait! Tonight is gonna be epic and fun! I really hope "NOW" is as good as what I've been hearing from the other fans that have already got to listen to it, and of course all the amazing reviews I've read so far! :)
-- Edited by ShaniaFanSince03 on Thursday 28th of September 2017 06:39:17 PM