Shania Twain says 'revolutionary' Beyonce will open up new gate in music

26 June 2024 , 20:32

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Beyoncé has been branded 'revolutionary' (Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

Shania Twain has praised Beyoncé for introducing a new audience to country music,

The country legend wholeheartedly believes that Beyonce could bring a fresh wave of interest to the genre with her country-influenced album Cowboy Carter, which was released this March. Speaking to the BBC, Shania said: "I love it. I love the expansion of the genre. It just brings it to a bigger audience."

Being the singer of the timeless hit You're Still the One, Shania welcomes atypical influences in the country world. She went on to say: "Johnny Cash was into rock music and was definitely more of a rebel... And there were a lot of artists in my childhood that brought more diversity to the country. More edge, more rock, more bluegrass, more folk and more soul."

Shania will play the iconic legends slot at Glastonbury this weekend (Getty Images for Live Nation)

Enthusiastically, she added, "So, it's great to see that starting up again. I think Beyonce will be somebody that will open up that gate again." In the same vein, Normani, formerly of Fifth Harmony fame, considers Beyonce as a "revolutionary" force in country music. At 28 years old, she gushed to ELLE.com about her hopes to mirror Beyonce's trajectory, asserting: "Having Beyonce, a black woman in music, taking over the country space is revolutionary. Those are the types of things that I set out to do."

"Now you have country artists who look like us coming out and just being like, 'We've always been here.' I think that it's educational not only for music lovers but also in the black community. We've pioneered a lot that we don't get recognition for. I think that it's just really cool being able to witness Beyonce be fearless and do something that is much bigger than herself."

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This weekend, Shania will play the iconic legends slot at Glastonbury Festival, following in the footsteps of the likes of Dolly Parton. Speaking about her "once in a lifetime invite". She said: "My manager said, 'I wouldn't be surprised if that comes up," but it's an invite that feels like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I was on the edge of my seat until it became a reality."

"Other people who have played the slot, like Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton, are musicians I'm heavily influenced by and look up to," she told Radio Times. Shania has never headed to Worthy Farm before and admitted she is feeling "excited but nervous". She is planning to cheer on her fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne and hopes to catch Coldplay and Cyndi Lauper.

Daniel Bird