Shania Twain is a megastar by anyone's standards. When it comes to outstanding achievements in the music industry, Shania has been there and done that over and over. This is an artist who's claimed her very own lane and plans to stay there.
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But Shania Twain had a pretty hardscrabble life when she was much younger. She even sang in hole-in-the-wall bars as a mere kid. A plucky youngster indeed!
What was that like for her? She recently discussed it in a TV interview about Shania Twain: COME ON OVER - The Las Vegas Residency - All The Hits! Anyone who has a Vegas residency is a big, big deal. Yet there was a time when Shania's existence was vastly different. Let's see what she has to say about it.
Shania Wasn't Okay With Singing In Adult Dives
It Was Just One Aspect Of Her Difficult Youth
Per Whisky Riff via CBS Mornings, Shania said, "I was very uncomfortable with it. It might've been that I was performing in adult venues, bars." Those venues showcased adult entertainment as well. Not exactly ideal places for a wholesome young girl to be.
She also had to deal with food insecurity, plus a mom and stepdad who argued a lot, "sometimes quite violently."
Tragedy Hit When Shania Twain Was 22
Her Parents Lost Their Lives In A Car Crash
Then things got unimaginably worse for Shania. After her folks were gone, she cared for her siblings with little money or resources. It sounds like something out of a Charles Dickens novel. For this resilient young woman, however, it was her day-to-day life. She was determined to live it as best she could. How many of us could cope with all that challenging responsibility on our shoulders at that age?
Performing Was Her Outlet To Get Away From Harsh Reality
She Did Not Aspire To Be A Professional Singer
Shania had a gift - her voice. But she didn't envision herself using it for a career. "The adults all around me thought I should be a star, you know, they all thought I should be the next Tanya Tucker. I wanted to be a veterinarian or an engineering architect."
Singing clearly did play an important role in Shania's life, though. It helped her survive. Music was her light in the darkness. "If my parents were fighting, I would go to the backyard and I would start a fire and sit there with my guitar, and just pretend that everything went away."
We're sure glad that Shania Twain hung in there and chose singing over being a vet or an architect!
