Shania Twain proved what makes her a music icon when she accepted the award and performed a medley of her hits at the People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday (December 6).
One of the highlights of her performance — including her breakthrough Billboard Hot 100 hit “Any Man of Mine” in 1995, her late ’90s crossover pop hits “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I feel like a woman’ and her latest single ‘Waking Up Dreaming’ – is when she traded Impress’ famous spoken-word line ‘Brad Pitt’ for another Canadian star.
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“Okay, so you’re Ryan Reynolds!” she said cheekily as the cameras cut to the surprised Deadpool star accepting the People’s Icon Award later that night. Reynolds mouthed, “Oh my god, me?!” from the audience.
Alongside the performance, Twain also delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech as she accepted the Music Icon Award from her friend, actor Billy Porter.
“Am I dreaming? I really am, I think,” she said at the beginning. “Thank you for giving me this award and for highlighting that my work is making a significant impact. I’m not sure if that’s right , but that’s always my wish: to inspire people with my music. I always miss my mother right now in these moments in life. She would have loved to see her little girl living this moment right now. But my fans, mine Friends, my team – you’re the ones who really fill this space, not my mom’s space, but you’re here with me and you’re celebrating, we’re celebrating together, and you’ve made me feel loved and something throughout my working life To be special and I will always be grateful for that, thank you.
“From a young age, I turned to songwriting as a form of escape,” she added. “This is my starting point. It never occurred to me how powerful lyrics can become when you can record them and share them with the whole world. It’s a great honor to be respected as a songwriter. But the greatest honor for me is knowing that people have found strength and inspiration in what I have to sing, in my work. So thank you, I love you for that.”
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She also emphasized her role as a fashion icon, noting that early in her career she only put together outfits with what she had. “I would just go to my closet and find what I had, or I would go to a department store and find the cheap stuff because I didn’t have a big budget. With sharp scissors and a lot of imagination, I just cut and pulled and chopped… and hoped for the best.”
Twain ended the speech with some inspirational words for her young fans. “I just want to say: dizziness, children. Embrace your individuality and your crazy ideas. Just be brave. Remember there is power in numbers we are stuck in this together love is love and if a door slams in your face run and jump to your door and kick it in! You will not regret it.
“All I have to say is: Be the queen of you,” she concluded, tipping a cowgirl hat to her forthcoming sixth studio album, Queen of Me, which is due out February 3, 2023.
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