Shania Twain performs in Wembley, UK.
Courtesy | Wikimedia Commons

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 unrecognizable 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 her name out again and outshine up-and-coming female country artists—like Kelsey Ballerini, who just released an incredible pop-country album—Twain is only digging herself into a hole. 

Over the weekend, Twain appeared on the “The Late Late Show” with James Corden. When asked to describe her album, she said, “I am celebrating happiness and joy and taking control of your own mood and your own spirit.”

Corden’s reply was simple: “Well, there are some absolute bangers on this album.” 

That’s all he said about the music, because that’s all you can say. None of these songs stand out, none are comparable to past hits, and none fall in line with the old Shania Twain we know and love. The country pop star of my childhood has completely fallen off the charts.