Shania Twain burst from semi-obscurity into superstardom more 25 years ago, when she scored her first No. 1 hit.
Twain’s 1993 self-titled debut album achieved minor chart success, but didn’t separate her from the pack of other young country music hopefuls. She took a new direction after meeting famed rock producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, who had helmed record-setting projects for AC/DC and Def Leppard, among others.
The couple married in December of 1993, and as a result of their musical partnership Twain’s sophomore album, 1995’s The Woman in Me, was one of the most groundbreaking country recordings of its time, utilizing a hybrid of country and pop instrumentation to achieve a fresh crossover sound that was unlike anything else in country music.
The album’s first single, “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under,” reached No. 11 and brought Twain to wider attention, but it was the second single, “Any Man of Mine,” that established her as the most exciting female performer in country music. The song fused country instrumentation with a dance beat, with a sassy lyrical message of female empowerment and accompanied by a video and a visual marketing campaign unlike anything country music had ever seen before.
Released on April 25, 1995, “Any Man of Mine” reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart on July 22, 1995, establishing Twain as one of the most up-and-coming performers in music. It also crossed over, reaching No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance in the 1996 Grammy Awards. The Woman in Me went on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide, setting Twain up for her next album, 1997’s Come on Over, to sell 40 million units, becoming the best-selling country music album of all time.
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