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MEET THE NOMINEES: Shania Twain -- Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year
This year, Shania Twain's album Come on Over joined The Woman in Me in the exclusive "10 Million Club," making country music history as the two all-time top-selling albums by a female artist.
"It's over the top!" says Shania, who is also contending for Female Vocalist of the Year. "I'm just so excited about these awards. They're fantastic honors!"
Her CMA nominations aren't the only milestones that have capped another incredible year.
So far Come on Over has reached the 12 million mark -- surpassing even The Woman in Me as her best-selling album -- and has been No. 1 on the charts for more than 45 weeks! It also earned her a couple of Grammy awards last February.
Shania also wrapped her first 150-date world tour, which was seen by an estimated 2 million fans.
There was also her first prime-time CBS-TV special, Shania Twain's Winter Break, with special guests Sir Elton John and the Backstreet Boys, which was a ratings winner. CBS quickly negotiated another Shania TV special, to be shown later this fall.
She was named as one of the Songwriters of the Year at the BMI 47th Annual Pop Awards, and the crossover success of "You're Still the One" continued unabated as it was named Pop Song of the Year.
And there were her back-to-back Diamond Awards, established earlier this year by the Record Industry Association of America to note albums that have sold more than 10 million copies.
Shania also proved to be a glamorous attraction for some of the world's top magazines. Cosmopolitan named her its "Fun, Fearless Female of the Year" in February, and she adorned the covers of Rolling Stone, TV Guide and People.
Revlon tapped into Shania's beauty with their "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" cosmetic print and TV ads.
Shania is currently working on her follow-up to Come on Over at her new Swiss castle digs with producer/husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange. And despite all the acclaim that has come her way, she says she's essentially the same girl she was when she struggled in the Northern Ontario bar circuit as a teenager.
"I don't particularly feel any different," says Shania. "I know that the perception of who I am has changed, but you know what's amazing? I haven't changed. I'm still the same person."
And the next album?
"It's really hard for me to say where it's going to go next musically," Shania replies. "I don't want to lose the fans that I have. It's very important to me that I please the fans who have supported me all of this time, so I don't think you're going to see something so drastic that you're not going to recognize that it's me."
-- Nick Krewen