Twain’s no longer the queen of country

By Hannah Cote Outreach Director

Shania Twain has taken off her cowgirl hat for good.

Beloved by many for her effortless country-pop anthems, Twain holds a legacy as one of the defining country stars of the ’90s.

Arguably her most famous album, “The Woman in Me,” won best country album at the Grammy Awards, album of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and country album of the year at the Billboard Awards. She’s received countless Grammys, Billboard awards, and World Music Awards for various songs and albums.

At 4 years old, I used to stand atop my couch singing and dancing to “I’m Gonna Getcha Good” for anybody that would listen. Thirty years later—and after a tough battle with Lyme disease—she’s still releasing music. But this latest creation is unrecog- nizable next to her greatest hits.

Twain’s sixth album, “Queen of Me,” released on Feb. 3, remains far from a country-pop masterpiece. Instead, it’s 12 songs and 36 minutes of corny, pitiful pop. This album shouldn’t be placed in the country genre.

It seems that Twain is having an identity crisis as most of her new songs are comparable to Taylor Swift’s and Meghan Trainor’s cheesiest pop songs. The album opens with “Giddy Up!” a weak attempt at a rodeo line dance to get anyone on their feet (“Slide to the left, then slide to the right / Jump in the air, ‘til you’re 10 feet high”), making lazy references to the south just to mark off “country” on her checklist. It seems Twain is trying to prove she knows the lingo, too, through painfully awkward lyrics: “Drunk in the city, got a litty in the cup.”

True fans will notice that “Giddy Up!” and “Got it Good” seem oddly familiar. Why? Because of Twain’s old hit singles, “Up!” and “I’m Gonna Getcha Good.” Yet neither of these songs are good counterparts to their preceding songs. They fall flat, forcing a country twang that Twain has lost.

“Brand New” feels like a Rachel Platten breakup anthem; “Pretty Liar,” notably Twain’s first ever explicit song, sounds like Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” or “Made You Look”; “Number One” pulls out Twain’s classic “Uh-Ohs,” but is far too synthy for a country girl; and “Queen of Me,” the title song of the album, is just bad. It’s reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “ME!” which was a flop.

Twain is evidently trying to send a message in this album—she’s not just a girl. She’s the queen of herself. But this album only makes that less believable.

In a poor attempt to get harden its outer shell.

The completed igloo had walls two and a half feet thick and weighed an estimated 3,000 lbs. The five friends easily fit inside.

Satisfied with the giant snow hut that now dominated Galloway’s lawn, McCormick, Deaton, Ruddy, Jankowski, and Conway headed to bed around 4 a.m.

During the following days, students stopped by on their way to and from classes to admire the igloo. They took pictures, crawled inside, and speculated about its creation.

When yellow stains appeared on the igloo’s surface, rumors circulated that Simpson residents vandalized the igloo by urinating on it. However, the builders confirmed the yellow stains were merely lemonade, albeit lemonade from Simpson.

Despite the igloo’s popularity among students, McCormick soon decided the igloo needed a few renovations. He settled on a fire pit to make it more homey. Collecting wet sticks and cardboard, the Gallowayians dug a fire pit in the igloo’s ice floor and doused the sticks and cardboard in a healthy dose of lighter fluid. They carved a small hole in the top or the igloo for ventilation, and lit a fire. While the fire took off instantly, the smoke from the wet wood overpowered them leading to a hasty retreat. Not to be thwarted by nature, McCormick ordered a mini wood stove online for $16. Once it arrives, the group wants to spend the night in the igloo. McCormick is also debating adding a TV, so igloo visitors should not be surprised if extension cords start running between Galloway and the igloo. While only time will tell how many amenities an igloo can accommodate, affordable housing is now only a few hours of work and a yard full of snow away.