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Shania Twain is the Original Beyonce

By Lauren Cowling on 9 May, 2014 at 13:00

In the last few years, Beyonce has established herself as the show-runner for what seems to be a new form of feminism. A more modern feminism, if you will. Beyonce is very much independent and successful apart from her very business-savvy husband, Jay-Z. He does not appear to be at all intimidated by his wife’s success, but sees it as her most attractive quality. Beyonce sings to the masses about love, beauty and everything that comes along with pop music, but also– motherhood, being a devoted wife and yes, feminism. In some ways she has created a whole new genre of pop and her band consists of Hillary Clinton, Oprah and every girl little girl everywhere who wants to throw her hat up into the air like Mary Tyler Moore when she finally realized she could “make it after all.”

To most, this genre of music is a fairly new thing only coming into play in the last couple of years, but I’m ready to make the argument that this genre was heavily inspired, if not created by, none other than Shania Twain, most notably her album UP!.

The album, released in 2002, to much success was an experiment in bold. Twain recorded three different versions of the album: country, pop and international, with the same track listing on each. Up! debuted at #1 with sales of 874,000 copies and went 11x Platinum. The album was big (huge) and would resonate for years to come.

Shania was Beyonce when Hillary was just a junior US Senator. But, what does that mean? It means Shania was preaching to women before Beyonce even had a chance to answer, “Who Run The World? (Girls!)” and Hillary wasn’t even being mentioned for 2016.

Shania, with much intent and a new catalog of songs, was the South’s most fierce feminist in the early 2000s.

And she’s Canadian.

I was 19 and a naive freshman in college when this album was introduced to me. It took over my dorm room, the dorm and every road trip I went on that school year. I had no idea the songs I was hearing and the lyrics I was singing were presenting me with such a bold proclamation: Girl, you are worth it and women can do anything. I always knew I could do anything, I just didn’t know that Shania believed in me the way she did. And she did.

Not long after Beyonce stormed onto the scene we were introduced to her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce. Sasha took over when Beyonce was performing. Well, long before that we were told about the spirit animal that lives within every woman: Juanita.

Juanita She is the restless river
running through my veins
She rides without the reins–
her name’s Juanita
She lives in the heart of every
woman in the world
Within the reach of every girl
who wants to meet her

Juanita is the fire within us, the dreamer the fighter, the go-getter. Finding and unleashing the Juanita in you, is opening up the opportunity to go after each and everyone of your dreams.

Once you’ve recognized that everything you need to possess to be fierce is within you, you have to realize that you’re “Not Just a Pretty Face.” You can literally, and Shania means this, do anything you want to do and you’re more than just a pretty face.

She’s–not–just a pretty face
She’s–got–everything it takes
She’s–mother–of the human race
She’s–not–just a pretty face

This song wasn’t just a once and done moment for her because she carried the sentiment into, “What a Way to Wanna Be” and continued to urge women everywhere to give up on the race to perfection. This was years before the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty.” She was the original Dove beauty campaign.

Oh–oh, why be perfect–no–oh,
it’s not worth it
Don’t be so obsessed–c’mon give it a rest
This is not some contest–just do your best

The stress of fitting into society’s mold of beauty isn’t worth the outcomes. Do your best, be your best.

On days when everything seems to be going in opposite directions and everything is just hard, Shania was singing that from here, things could only go “Up!”

When everything is goin’ wrong
Don’t worry, it won’t last for long
Yeah, it’s all gonna come around
Don’t go let it get you down
You gotta keep on holding on

It’s ’bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody’s buggin’ me
Like nothing want to go my way–
yeah, it just ain’t been my day
Nothin’s comin’ easily

Up–up–up–
Can only go up from here
Up–up–up–Up
where the clouds gonna clear
Up–up–up–
There’s no way but up from here

Sometimes, you need that. You don’t always need to hear a Bible verse or something someone’s grandmother once told them– you just need to know that things can’t get any worse, so they can only go up!

Shania was encouraging and smart with her lyrics. On top of that, these songs were catchy without being annoying. That’s a rare feat. Mostly, it was just good music, with a great message. You could be enjoying a drive around town while encouraging your inner-self. Self-reflection with a catchy hook.

Remember in 2008 when the bottom fell out of the financial market? The country was in disarray and things looked dire. Shania predicted it all. She saw it coming with “Ka-Ching.”

When you’re broke go and get a loan
Take out another mortgage on your home
Consolidate so you can afford
To go and spend some more when
you get bored

All we ever want is more
A lot more than we had before
So take me to the nearest store

The only way she could’ve been more accurate would’ve been to throw in a verse about the auto industry going bankrupt and maybe a stanza about student loans. She was Suze Orman with the voice of angel and a much better haircut.

At this point you’d think Shania would be out of advice to give, but she wasn’t. She had a lot left to teach us about love and the terribleness of its aching wonderfulness (you know, like Taylor Swift sings about). Sometimes, relationships don’t work. And sometimes, you have the opportunity to get back into the relationship and you’re lonely and feel desperate, so you do it. But, Shania doesn’t want us to be fooled. Sometimes, you’re just better off being apart.

That’s it! (That’s all!) We had fun!
(We had a ball!)
It was good while it lasted–
but now I’m past it
(It was sure!) It was sweet!
Sure you swept me off my feet
I miss you now and then,
but would I do it all again–Nah–

Don’t see a relationship for anything more than it actually was. Don’t be fooled. You’re better than that and deserve more.

At this point in the album the church was saying, “Amen!” Emphatically.

And just when you think Shania is too good, too much and almost unrelatable because she’s done nothing but sing directly to you, she dials it down a few notches and speaks to us on our most basic level with “C’est La Vie.”

It must be Monday! What a dumb day!
Can’t drag my butt outta bed
Somebody stop me–I need another coffee
Like a hole in my head

When everyday begins this way
Gets you down and can drive you mad
The daily grind can freak your mind
But life isn’t all that bad

Don’t let it get to you
C’est la vie! That’s life,
and that’s how it’s gonna be
C’est la vie! Hold tight,
it comes right eventually. Oh–ho–

There’s no way a more simple, yet profound lyric of, “It must be Monday! What a dumb day!” had been sung before or since then. It’s like she knew she just needed to simplify things for me. She knew I could only handle so much information, so she subtly introduced me to the beautiful French language and simultaneously told me to get my **** together and recognize that life isn’t all that bad and it won’t ever be that bad.

The thing about this album and the modern-day feminist is that they are not in your face. Neither Shania nor Beyonce is talking about equal pay or any other scenario people like to argue about over dinner. Their simple approach speaks to every woman without offense: you are worth it, you are smart and you can be independent and successful while doing all of those other womanly things like cooking, cleaning, mothering and the like.

Juanita, she’s every woman in the world.

http://www.countryoutfitter.com/style/shania-twain-original-beyonce/