Shania Twain Praises Taylor Swift as ‘Brave’ & ‘Fabulous Example’ (Exclusive)

Shania Twain’s career is undeniably impressive, with 100 million albums sold and five Grammys.

Now, she’s back in Las Vegas, reliving her greatest moments and performing her best songs in her new “Come on Over” residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Shania chatted with “Extra” about her career, the show, and how she’s letting go of her vulnerabilities and embracing aging. She also praised Taylor Swift as a “brave” artist and a “fabulous example” for anyone coming up behind her.

Reflecting on all the accolades she’s received over the years, she said, “I'm taking it in now. All these years later. I'm absorbing more of the accolades than I did when I was receiving them. Because life was really going fast. The accolades were coming in really fast. That was really fabulous. I wasn't present. And I wasn't celebrating in the moment. But I'm celebrating it now.”

Her residency represents a new era for the Queen of Country Pop, and she told us, “I'm sort of letting go of my vulnerabilities more and more. I am taking more joy in leaping, trusting, and taking chances, experimenting. And I feel like I realize that my boundaries are broader than I realized they were, and I don’t have as many vulnerabilities as I thought I did by going outside of what I thought were my parameters."

As for aging, she said, “I'm embracing the aging. I'm fine with it. I don't have a choice. I can't change it. So I decided whatever I can't change, I need to have fun with… What I wanted to get used to was, 'What do I look like with my hair going lighter and lighter and lighter and lighter?'”

She said of recently trying pink hair, “The pink surprisingly made me feel younger, looking younger somehow. And it’s so light, it’s practically gray. So that was a really good surprise. And when I'm entirely gray, if I ever do want to hue my hair pink, I know I'm gonna look great."

Shania added, "You start realizing with more experience that you waste a lot of time worrying and fearing, and fear is just in your way. I think there’s you learn eventually that some things are worth worrying about... So much fear is just not necessary. Fear of aging. I’m not afraid of aging. What a waste of my energy to worry about that and to fear that."

Twain used to take some heat for her style and music choice, especially when she first started in the industry wearing sexy midriffs and putting pop elements in country songs. All of it, however, paved the way for future artists like Taylor Swift.

Shania reflected, "Well, you know, when the artists themselves speak, reference me, or they’re showing respect or when we talk, they share that it inspired them to feel more liberated... gave them a little more of a sense of self-confidence in taking those chances, then that’s a huge compliment."

She continued, "Obviously when I did that, I wouldn't have known — nobody knew who Taylor was yet. So When she speaks about that now it really warms my heart and makes me very happy, and I know that she's doing the same in her own right for other young artists coming up behind her, because she is a very brave artist and a very, very hard working one. She's a fabulous example for anybody coming up behind her."