Shania Twain finally reveals the meaning behind hit song 'Man, I feel like a Woman'

She's undoubtedly a musical icon, and when country singer Shania Twain released Man! I Feel Like a Woman! it became an instant hit.

The multi-Grammy award winner, who last year sang with Harry Styles at Coachella, was a big hit in the 90s with this iconic tune as well as That Don't Impress me Much. Now, she has revealed the story behind why she wrote Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

In a new interview, Shania says the song - which she co-wrote with her now ex-husband - was a way to celebrate women. However, she also admits that her record label didn't quite 'get it'.

The song spent 20 weeks on the US Billboard charts, peaking at number 4, while it also reached number 3 on the UK charts.

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Explaining what the song was about to Whiskey Riff, Shania said: "When Man! I Feel Like A Woman [...] came out, it was so obvious the song was [about] liberated, independent, human beings."

While she knew it would be a great hit in bars and clubs, it also had a special meaning for her: "I felt it all through the songwriting. I’m just thinking, this feels like party song. It just made me feel like I’m standing up for myself.

"I’m not apologetic about all the things that are criticised that I’ve experienced in my own life. That’s too tight, that’s too short, for me to just start even recognizing that I’m okay with being a girl."

The singer, who released a Netflix documentary last year called Not Just A Girl, went on to say: "I hadn't written Man! I Feel Like a Woman for any particular person, except for the way I was feeling. It's like everyone's song and they all take ownership of it in a different way, even regardless of what the song stands for and represents and has come to represent."

Despite all the meaning behind the song, Shania says that her record label didn't think that women would 'get' the meaning behind it - we're happy they were wrong.

The singer, who is said to have a net worth of $400m, released a documentary last summer which sees her talk about losing her parents, how her rise to fame affected her, and also how she contracted Lyme disease in 2003.

Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Marie Claire, fitness for Women's Health and Tech Radar and travel for the Evening Standard and Woman & Home. She covers a variety of other subjects too and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. Sarah can normally be found trying out the latest fitness class or on a plane to an exotic destination - and of course, writing about them.