Shania Twain is comfortable in her own skin and wants everyone to know it.
Twain posed topless for the cover of her new single “Waking Up Dreaming,” which is one of the tracks on her upcoming sixth studio album, “Queen of Me,” which will be released on February 3.
In an interview with People, the 57-year-old singer opened up about how a naked photoshoot helped her overcome long-standing body image issues.
Twain told the outlet on Wednesday that anything can be “fashionable” if worn with “confidence”:
“This is me expressing my truth. I’m comfortable in my own skin, and this is the way I am sharing that confidence.”
She continued:
“I am a woman in my late 50s, and I don’t need to hide behind the clothes. I can’t even tell you how good it felt to do nude shooting. I was just so unashamed of my new body, you know, as a woman that is well into my menopause. I’m not even emotional about it; I just feel okay about it. It’s really liberating.”
Twain posed in a cowboy hat and colorful pointy-toed boots, covering her bare chest with her arms.
The “You’re Still the One” hitmaker announced the song in September and shared an Instagram photo of the single art. Twain stated in the caption that she was “super excited” about the announcement and felt “a rush of adrenaline and nerves.”
She added:
“I’ve spent the last couple years working away on new music… on my documentary… on the Vegas residency and it’s been such a creatively fulfilling time for me, I can’t wait for this next chapter, and ‘Waking Up Dreaming’ is just the start.”
The country-pop music icon is no stranger to breaking down barriers with her art. She wore no bra in her 1993 music video “What Made You Say That,” exposing her midriff.
Twain said:
“From the very beginning — the very first video — I was ditching the bra. But, I was a lot firmer then, so as I grew older, I started feeling a different pressure of, ‘Well, your breasts are not as plump as they used to be. Your skin is not as tight as it used to be. Maybe you should start covering it up a little bit more.'”
When such thoughts entered her mind, she chose to be brave.
She added:
“I hit this wall and was like, ‘Whoa, my confidence is regressing. My courage is dulling. Why am I allowing this? Frig that. I am not regressing. I am embracing my body as it changes, as I should have from my childhood to my teens, as I should be from my taut, 20s and 30-year-old self, to my menopausal body. I’m not going to be shy about it. I want to be courageous about it, and I want to share that courage in the artwork that I am directing.”
Twain recently spoke with The Sunday Times about her past trauma and body image issues. She recalled downplaying her feminine features and attempting to flatten her breasts in order to avoid being targeted by her stepfather Jerry, whom she accused of sexual and physical abuse.
Twain said:
“I hid myself, and I would flatten my boobs. I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I’d wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me. Make it easier to go unnoticed.”
Twain’s stepfather and mother were killed in a car accident 35 years ago.