Country icon Shania Twain is preparing the release of her sixth studio album, Queen of Me, scheduled to hit shelves and streaming services on February 3, while marking two firsts: Shania’s first full length album since 2017’s Now, and her first since undergoing surgery on her throat in 2018.
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Speaking recently with TalkShopLive, Shania admitted that the throat surgery she underwent in 2018, one of many she has endured throughout her battle with Lyme's disease, left her unsure if she would ever be able to sing again. This, she says, made her
"For me, this album means so, so much about my decision-making and the courage to get the operation, knowing that I may never even be able to sing again after the surgery," Twain explains. "So that was a big decision."
Her upcoming album Queen of Me, she says, is in essence an attempt to relearn her vocal chops and the recording process, while also "testing the new voice," with the knowledge that it could be lost again at any time.
"What's even more precious to me is that I don't know if the procedure that I had will last forever," she admits. "With age, it could just not hold up, and that could be it."
If that point ever comes, she says she will likely have to choose between hopping back onto the operating table again, or continue on writing for other artists. "I'll have to make another decision," she says. "Will I do the operation again or not? Do I just now write music for other people's albums at that point? I will gladly do that, and, again, it will be another decision that I will have to make as the queen of me. Some decisions are tougher than others."
Shania is set to begin a busy year in support of her new album, Queen of Me, with a massive headlining tour kicking off on April 28 in Seattle, running through two legs and ending in September overseas.
As far as what her plans are post-Queen Of Me, Shania says she's looking forward to getting back in the studio to complete another four albums worth of music. "But, you know, one thing at a time," she says taking a breath. "I think we're gonna have to wait for a while. It's gonna be well over a year because I still have a tour coming up," as well as other projects on the horizon.
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