Shania Twain has been a mega star since the late 1990s when her The Woman In Me album took off and made her one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Shania is currently experiencing a resurgence of her incredible diamond artist-selling success, touring on her “2023 Queen of Me Tour,” and has been selling out arenas worldwide.

Having been in country music for over 25 years, I have interviewed Shania many times during her rise to superstardom. My very first interview with Twain was in March of 1995. It was at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, and at the time, Shania came to my room for the interview on her own. Not even a record label representative was with her. I opened the door when she knocked to see the then-unknown star wearing a smart red business suit.

At the time, I recall I could not even pronounce “Shania” and at the beginning of the interview, had to ask her how to say her name correctly. She was gracious about it. I remember telling my husband that night that I interviewed a new artist today and I really liked her.

She was kind and fun and even asked me after our 30-minute interview if she could hang out with me in my room until her next interview down the hall. During the interview, we discussed our mutual love for Dolly Parton and country music. She also told me about her goals at the time, and yes, she has fulfilled them beyond what she could have dreamed of.

I gathered twelve quotes from my interview with the beautiful lady who, at the time, I had no idea would be such a colossal superstar just a few years later.

RELATED: Shania Twain Wants To Meet With Beyonce

• On becoming a singer

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  "I've been doing it professionally since I was eight years old. It's one of those things. I guess when you do it from such a young age, you never become that. You've always been that. I always say to people, 'It's not really a dream of mine to become this because I've never really become it. It's always just been a reality for me.' I think more than anything; it's been my parent's dream to see me become successful. I have really been doing television, radio, and clubs since I was eight years old."

• Her influences

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  "Dolly Parton was the biggest out of all the artists, and Karen Carpenter was a big influence on me as well, the Mamas and the Papas, Gladys Knight was a big influence on me as well, vocally. But Dolly Parton was the biggest all around, and that, I think, because she just seemed to have everything and do everything right."

• Meeting Dolly Parton

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  "I met her briefly one time but not in a music environment; she didn't know who I was. I was still very new. I had only one single at the time, which was 'What Made You Say That,' I was very new. She was on the same plane as me going somewhere, so I was actually humming to myself in the isle, and she said, 'What are you singing?' and I was surprised that she even spoke to me, so I didn't know what to say I was nervous, so I just said, 'Oh, nothing.'" She laughed. "It was my chance to talk to her, and I didn't take it. But, Id love to get to talk to her some time for real."
• On her song “Any Man Of Mine” before it was released as a radio single

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  "It's kind of like Cajun meets Queen, isn't it? This is a song I actually started writing during the making of my first album. And when I met Mutt (Lange), who is my producer" -- and at the time, he was also her husband -- "It all just came together just between the two of us. It's a fun way of placing your demands of what you expect from a man but in a very fun way."

• When she decided to move to Nashville from her native Canada

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  "I got to the point where I had sort of what I called 'Gone to music college.' I had been singing country all of my life up until I was sixteen years old, and when I turned sixteen, I decided to try different things and just experiment, learn a lot more about different kinds of music, and educate myself. So I went out and decided to do things in front of different kinds of audiences, like rock audiences, R&B, and off-Broadway-type stuff. And I decided to come full circle back to country when I decided it was time to now become a recording artist because the country was the most natural thing for me to do."

• On how performing for rock and other crowds helped her with her live show

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  "In country music now, you better put on a good live show. As a star, you have to have a pretty good production, and I'm prepared for that now. I've worked with dancers, I've worked with large bands, I've worked with producers and directors and all of that stuff, so when I get to that stage, it won't overwhelm me."
• How the album, The Woman In Me, is a project of her and her then-husband, Mutt Lange

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  "Even down to the vocals, there are no other vocals on this album except for him and myself, and all the writing is ours, and all the production is ours. So, it's a very, very intimate project. I started writing a lot of the stuff before I met him, and when I met him, he was a world-famous producer and songwriter. He could do any of this stuff by himself."

• On The album’s title song, “The Woman In Me”

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  "It's all about allowing yourself to be vulnerable a little bit. Just allowing yourself to be a woman. Because really, the way we have to be right now, we're not allowed to really be a woman; we just have to be good. As good as we can forget about the fact that we're a woman, we have to compete with everybody else. But every once in a while, it's nice to just have a bubble bath and do the kind of things that guys just would never do."

• On women in all genres of music

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  "I think that in music and every other career that exists in this world; we all have the same problem; we just have to fight a little bit harder. For some reason, I really don't know why we have to fight a little bit harder, and we have to be a little bit stronger, and I think we have to be a little bit better too."
• Will she push the boundaries of country music?

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  "Not any more than I already do. I think just being myself is what I will stick to and do what I'm most comfortable with. But I love country music. My favorite thing in the country is doing a waltz, a country waltz. So I would not want to do that. As a matter of fact, whenever I pick up my guitar, that's the first thing I will go to. I actually think I've got to get away from that sometimes because today, you can be accused of being too country."

• On her goals

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  "A big goal for me is to become a household name. It's a very difficult thing to do, and there are a lot of famous people out there that are not household names. You can be a star and still not really be a star. I am hoping my music will get me to that point. Another major goal I have as an artist is to have other people record my music."

• On what she is most proud of

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  "Career-wise, I try to stay away from pride because those are all things that just come to you if you're lucky, and that's all. You know, you can't really take pride; you just gotta be grateful and say, 'Thanks a lot.' Every time I go out and see an artist perform, I think, 'Oh boy, I've got a lot of work to do.'"

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