Shania Twain talks Beyoncé, People's Choice Country Awards and more

For five decades, Shania Twain never stopped thinking the country was cool.

That's the energy she brings to the stage as she hosts the People's Choice Country Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House. The event premieres Thursday at 7pm CT on NBC and Peacock.

Country newcomer Beyoncé leads the People's Choice Country Awards field with 12 nominations. Other double-digit nominations include “I Remember Everything” contributors Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves with 11 and 10, respectively.

Another recent country newsmaker, Post Malone, also received nominations for his music videos for the Morgan Wallen collaboration “I Had Some Help” and the Blake Shelton duet “Pour Me a Drink.”

Shania Twain will host the People's Choice Country Awards, airing Thursday from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on NBC and Peacock.

Kane Brown will also receive the Country Champion Award while Miranda Lambert will receive the Country Icon Award at the event.

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Twain has an opinion on all of these achievements and more.

Twain is excited to be part of the country's recovery

Over the past two years, “bold and risky” pop-country artists like Twain, who walked the line between icons and outliers, have experienced something of a resurgence in Music City.

Every six months the singer of “Man!” I Feel Like a Woman” in Nashville. This has included guest appearances at ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium, headlining at Geodis Park and now joining the lauded circuit at the Opry House.

Twain says she's excited to be involved in a “pivotal moment in the evolution” of country music.

“The People's Choice Country Awards is an opportunity to express my appreciation and respect for the community of country music artists old and new,” she says. “I will be there not only to meet old friends but also to thank Shaboozey for his spirit that makes me smile every day.”

For the performer, it's an encouraging moment in which the genre now reflects her iconoclastic journey through country and pop music.

“I grew up with 'my' country music, which is characterized by blues, folk, rock and alternative artists and sounds,” says Twain, who has sold well over 100 million records in her career. “It makes me happy to have that energy back in the genre because the fans can scream (for something that country music can give them). It’s important that artists must give fans what they want to continue the growth of country music.”

The value of fan-voted country music awards shows

The People's Choice Country Awards balance the highest echelon of the country's awards cycle by facilitating member alliances that select the best artists and creatives in the industry, in addition to a variety of fan-voted awards.

Academies and associations are tiered systems that specifically aim for structured, sustainable growth.

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Fans' willingness to use online and streaming portals to accelerate change, at the risk of denying structure and sustainability, has almost transformed country music as an industry in the last five years.

“The country's industrial transformation is (felt so deeply) because the genre's industry was overdue for a refresh,” says Twain.

Over the past five years, the music industry's general reliance on streaming and touring revenue has played directly into the hands of a genre that routinely produces singles like Wallen's “Last Night,” Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and Malone and Wallen's ” “I Had Some Help” reached one billion streams in less than a year. In addition, sell-out arena and stadium touring acts such as Brown, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, George Strait and Wallen are proliferating in this genre.

Notably, the country accounts for a significant portion of sales due to fan support in this market compared to other genres.

Twain says it's important for the genre to “catch up” to develop a balance between the desires of fans and the needs of the industry. But she adds that country has historically been a genre where over-committed fans wanted to support country music like pop – and could draw on industry support for that over-commitment.

“Country has always had to be an environment where pop stars find more room,” says Twain. “Artists who are able to comfortably and inspiredly pursue their interests in producing country music in this (genre) environment are critical.”

Beyoncé's place in the country's mainstream

And yes, Beyoncé is nominated for twelve People's Choice Country Awards, but no Country Music Association award.

On one level, the CMA Awards are much older and more established than NBC and Universal's foray into country music awards shows.

However, Twain rightly notes that the “Cowboy Carter” artist is a star whose impact “is difficult to understand.”

She believes that while Beyoncé's influence is difficult to compare with the country's pre-existing standards, it respects the interests of the genre's fans, but overall honors both the country's listeners and the genre's creative community.

For Twain, artists should be rewarded when their desire to push boundaries is commercially and socially successful.

“Not being afraid to embrace something that might feel new or surprising will actually (support) the country’s growing listener base,” Twain says. “Rules and stereotypes shouldn’t apply. The decision about who should or should not be in country music is best left to the fans first.”

“Country has always been cool”

Currently, 40% of Billboard's Top 25 albums are country releases. Yes, 50% of that tally includes five years worth of Bryan and Wallen releases alone. But 19-year-old Jessie Murph and 72-year-old George Strait are also among them.

Ask Twain about an artist she feels is missing from the conversation, and she doesn't name one of her 2023 tour openers or an underground name that deserves the spotlight. Instead, she names another legend: Barbara Mandrell.

Shania Twain talks Beyoncé, People's Choice Country Awards and more

Twain is excited to be part of the country's recovery

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