If you haven’t yet heard it, Shania Twain is the voice of a new and very catchy Uber Australia campaign. In a radio exclusive with The KIIS Network’s Will & Woody, Shania revealed the secret details about her ‘beef’ with Brad Pitt, overcoming stage fright with Harry Style and that she can wield an axe, and that’s not a guitar euphemism!
WOODY: Correct me if this is wrong but were you a lumberjack at some stage in your life. Did you chop wood?
SHANIA TWAIN: Of course!
WOODY: You were a good lumberjack? You’re a strong lumberjack?
SHANIA TWAIN: Yeah. I’m good. I’m good with the chainsaw. I’m good with the axe.
WILL: You’re Canadian. It kind of comes with the territory, doesn’t it?
SHANIA TWAIN: Right. Of course. Yeah, exactly. Like that’s the way I grew up. A lot of the times where I’m from, even just to get from A to B, you gotta chop your way through the bush. A lot of people in Canada carry their chainsaws in their trunk or whatever. Because if there’s a tree falling or you’re trying to get home, who knows when the next car is going to come along. And I’m not even kidding. Right? Because there are areas with like very small populations. So, you gotta be able to get out there and chop it up.
WOODY: All I’m picturing, though, is Shania Twain in full leopard print now, chopping wood. Is that when the leopard print started? When did the leopard print start, Shania. Because again, it’s synonymous with Shania Twain now, that leopard print look.
SHANIA TWAIN: Oh no. The lumberjack is not where the leopard print came in. We do not have leopards. No. The leopard print came in much later in life when I was really starting to enjoy fashion and, being a vegetarian, I like an animal print that I can wear without wearing the skin. And I really loved it. So, knowing that I could wear stretch velvet leopard print, I just found myself.
WILL: You come across as so extroverted, and you always look amazing. You did this performance with Harry Styles at Coachella. There’s 100,000 people there. For a lot of people, that’s intimidating. But I was learning that you also have had your struggles with performing or just being on a stage.
SHANIA TWAIN: Oh, I had severe stage fright most of my career. I mean, I’m not going to thank menopause, but I’m going to say that it was just like, all of a sudden, I’m like, “Why am I letting this get in my way?” This fear. I don’t even know what the fear is. It’s hard to even explain. It’s like you want to try fear, go into menopause. I mean, when I was younger, I just suffered through it. I just pushed. The real turning point for me, and a reality check, was when I got my Lyme disease and I had to get my throat cut open.
WILL: You had your throat cut open?
SHANIA TWAIN: Open throat surgery to access the nerves. And I have symptoms that I just live with, and they’re permanent, apparently. We all have permanent ailments that we have to live with. That’s the way I look at it.
WOODY: You said on stage that there was a moment in your life where you thought you were never going to be able to sing again. So how special does it feel to be singing now?
SHANIA TWAIN: Well, this is another thing where perspective changes. So, it’s like, “Oh, I can actually sing after all of this. So, I’m going to make the most of it and I’m going to damn enjoy it.” I went from pushing through to pushing the fear aside. Get out of my way!
WILL: Have you and Brad Pitt got beef? Did you ever bump into him and have to have a conversation there? I just imagine him walking up to you in a party in Hollywood and being like, “Shania, what did I ever do to you?”
WOODY: “How does this not impress you?”
SHANIA TWAIN: I know! Well, no, we’ve never met. And, I mean, there’s a lot of Hollywood celebrities I’ve never met.
WILL: You’re chopping wood in the leopard print, so no doubt you don’t get to see him!
SHANIA TWAIN: He must be impressed with that, though. “That leopard print chick can chop wood and use a chainsaw.”
WOODY: And also, the only person in the world who’s not impressed by him as well. I think that would really drive him insane.
SHANIA TWAIN: Move your own fallen tree out of the road! I don’t know, I mean, maybe he’ll think of me if that ever happens to him. “Oh, maybe I better call Shania and ask her how to do this.”
WILL: So, he was just a guy. He was just this thing that was just, like, the antithesis to the song you were writing at the time.
SHANIA TWAIN: Exactly. Because I was thinking, “Okay, everybody in the world is in love with Brad Pitt right now.” There were nude photos out of him, and everybody was gaga over that. And I’m thinking, “Okay, if there is anyone that is making an impression on everyone.” And that’s why I picked on him.
WILL: I also just love that it’s unspoken between you guys. If I was in Hollywood, I would just hold a dinner party and only invite you two.
SHANIA TWAIN: Like, he can just seek me out, right? And you’d think by now, he’s okay.
WOODY: And he’d be trying so hard to impress you. I just love Brad Pitt in that world. Just trying so hard to impress someone.
WILL: Rocks up in the leopard print with the chainsaw.
SHANIA TWAIN: He certainly doesn’t have to try very hard. I think I’m sure he’s got a pretty good sense of humour.
Will & Woody can be heard weekdays from 4pm live across the KIIS Network around Australia, or listen through the free iHeart App.