Sunday, March 8, 2015

Why This Won't Be Shania's Last Tour


So Shania Twain says this week that her recently announced "Rock This Country" tour will be her farewell tour. Personally, I'm not buying it. Aside of her just released
live CD and DVD, she has another new album coming out soon, with new music.  She has stated though, that she'll only be singing her older hits on tour. She only wants her fans to hear the hits. Who says her new songs won't be hits? Although the new songs aren't traditional Shania Twainish, she's still excited about them.“The songs are going great,” she says enthusiastically. “I’ve been putting them together for a really long time now. They’ve been whirling around in my head, so I’ve got a pile of things, way too much for one album.” Okay, so again, why not showcase a couple of the newer ones that the people just may want to hear? But giving the timing of the new album release, in relation to the 48 date tour, we may not even hear the new material until after the tour ends. I'm not buying that either.
      Secondly, she has done this "goodbye" thing in the past. She hasn't been on the stage since 2004 but then in late 2011 announced a two year residency stint in Las Vegas. She had said then that was her farewell. “When I took that on, I was thinking, ‘Well, this will be my last hurrah,’Twain said of the 2012-2014 Vegas gig. I wasn't buying it. But then nearing the end of 2014, she had thought maybe this isn't the end. "Maybe I should get out and do a tour and take myself and my show to the people and that will be my last hurrah.’ Nope. Not buying it.
       Thirdly, Twain makes it clear that she's not retiring or that she's done making records any more. It's just that she's done performing. I'm not buying it. And she even admits she doesn't rule out another residency in Las Vegas.  “If I did go back to Vegas, I would do it with this Rock This Country show,”
       Lastly, because of that new album coming out, even if it does come out after this current tour is over, who doesn't believe she'll want to promote the new music even if it's done only in smaller venues. She says that this newer album is described as "soulful". “It’s not like my music was ever traditional anyway. I don’t think anybody expects that from me. Nothing that I’m doing is traditional.” She may only want to promote those songs and not any of the hits she'll being singing now, and Shania has fans in just about every genre so something like that just might work for her. It's worked for other artists in the past. But for now, at age 49, Shania says goodbye with a tour shes says will be "completely different show" than "You're Still The One" and promises to be a rock and roll freestyle type of show. Only it will be her last. I'm not buying it.