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Shania Twain Reminisces About Writing Britney Spears’ ‘Don’t Let Me Be The Last To Know’

The queen of country pop also reveals her dream duets: Nick Jonas, Nicki Minaj and Chris Stapleton

By Brian Anthony Hernandez | Fuse | August 29, 2017

Did you know pop princess Britney Spears recorded her 2001 ballad “Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know” inside the home of Shania Twain, the queen of country pop? It’s true, and even her most avid fans were surprised to learn the two powerhouses collaborated on the track from Spears’ Oops!... I Did It Again.

“She was working with my ex-husband in the studio, and I got to say hello while she was in the studio because it was at our home [in Switzerland in 1999]” said Twain, 52, inciting laughs from the audience during Fuse’s recent interview with her at Spotify HQ in New York City. “She was very sweet. It was a great experience just to get to know her on a behind-the-scenes level a little bit. It was obviously an honor to have her record some of my songwriting...Britney did a beautiful job with the song.”

Twain, who notably wrote every song on her long-awaited comeback album titled Now (due out Sept. 29), co-wrote Spears’ sensual pop ballad with Keith Scott and Robert Lange, who also served as producer. Twain and Lange had invited Spears into their Swiss chateau to complete the song. 

“I love writing for other people,” Twain added. “In fact, when I believed that I was never going to be able to sing again myself [because of vocal injuries caused by Lyme Disease], I was thinking I will get a lot of pleasure writing for other singers and hearing other singers sing the songs that I’ve written.”

Twain, whose 1997’s Come On Over is still the best-selling female album of any genre ever and the best-selling country album of all-time, has won many awards for penning music. 

She has earned more than three dozen BMI Songwriter Awards, including Pop Songwriter of the Year and Country Songwriter of the Year for conjuring up "You're Still the One," "Man! I Feel Like a Woman," "From The Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much," the latter of which she recently revealed was inspired by Brad Pitt’s controversial nude photo scandal.

Twain and Spears have crossed paths since “Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know.” Spears memorably sang “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” in her 2002 film Crossroads . And the two entertainers have since had successful Las Vegas residencies. Maybe a future collaboration is written in the stars?

“[A duet] would be cool," Twain proclaimed. "She's sweet. We're both blonde. Maybe I'll have to go back to brunette so that we have a little bit of variety there. Diversity.”

Speaking of duets, Twain also told Fuse contributor Brian Anthony Hernandez and BuzzFeed’s Matt Stopera—during their joint interview at Spotify for Twain’s intimate album listening session—about her dream collaborations. Nick Jonas, Nicki Minaj and Chris Stapleton are on her short list. 

“Nick Jonas, I would love to sing with him. For one he's got an incredible voice and secondly he's just a sweet person. I like nice people, and he’s a really nice person, very, very talented,” Twain explained. “You know who I really love is Nicki Minaj. I love her. She’s just so raw and vicious and amazing. And Chris Stapleton. He’s really awesome. I love him. That’s a good wide range.”

Twain previewed her fifth album, her first studio album since 2002’s Up!, to a small group of fans who she shocked by making a surprise appearance at the listening session. Watch their ecstatic reactions:

http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2017/08/shania-twain-wrote-britney-spears-dont-let-me-be-the-last-to-know-song-nick-jonas-nicki-minaj