In the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes, Shania Twain takes fans behind the scenes of the music video for “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” in honor of 25u anniversary of the empowering song.
In 1999, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” peaked at No. 23 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 4 on the Hot Country Songs chart. But the song's spirit of empowerment, confidence and freedom has carved a lasting, decades-long connection with her fans music. His song and video continue to attract great viewership on Vevo. From 2016-2022, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” saw an average 31% increase in global daily views annually on International Women's Day (March 8) in the previous 10 weeks leading up to the holiday, including a 57% increase in global daily views in 2021 and a 24% increase in 2022.
In the Vevo Footprints video, Twain discusses the song's role in breaking down barriers and defying genres, and creating lyrics that she says focus on “liberation, independence and the human spirit.”
“I was standing up for myself through the song,” she says in the annotated video. “I was unapologetic about all the things I'd been criticized for in my life — 'You can't do that, you can't wear that, that's too tight, that's too short.' That was my song that really said you know what I like about being a woman! I feel comfortable in my own skin! It's great!” He also added about the song's rock instrumentation, “I wanted to go beyond country music and this song was pushing the boundaries of my genre. Musically it wasn't limited to one genre. It's rock, it's pop, it's country.”
She also discusses the deliberate fashion decisions she and her team made for the video, which was inspired by the style in Robert Palmer's “Addicted to Love.”
“We wanted to take that idea and turn it on its head,” says Twain. “We wanted to do something unexpected and role reversal was the vision… [Fashion designer/stylist] Mark Bauer went to work on the wardrobe with this idea in mind, and dressed me in this amazing tall women's coat, top hat, with the veil added for a touch of femininity, in a 'typically' masculine outfit' . She added, “As part of the role reversal, it was important to have the kids be really sexy and androgynous. All the little fashion details were considered and on purpose. It's a real credit to Mark and his talent.”
Twain also recalls that “we made a lot of mistakes doing what we were doing at the time. We were taking country music to a place it hadn't been before, and some people didn't like that.”
He even recalled the art department questioning whether female listeners would feel threatened by the video.
“I remember the art department saying, 'This is so hot! Female listeners are not going to like this! They will feel threatened.' I was told that I was going to alienate a huge part of my audience. I knew women would totally get it,” says Twain.
But clearly, the song has become an anthem — whether it's helping people get fired up for a night of partying, or serving as encouragement to be confident in themselves and their personal visions. “Man! I feel like a woman!” she also won a Grammy in 2000 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/shania-twain-vevo-footprints-man-i-feel-like-a-woman-video-1235645755/
