Shania Twain has made a heartbreaking confession about her childhood and her mother’s role in her career that left her with stage fright for decades.

The legendary singer, 59, has been candid about her difficult childhood, growing up in poverty in Canada with four siblings, her mum Sharon and stepdad Jerry Twain.

She revealed back in 2018 that Jerry had sexually abused her, as well as being violent to her mother, before both her parents died in a car crash when she was just 22. 

In a candid interview on Dermot O’Leary’s Reel Stories, she opened up about how some of the tragic experiences left her with a fear of the stage.

She admitted that she used to sing for drunk men in bars when she was young to please her mother and earn ‘a few bucks’ for her family.

Shania said she would get up in the middle of the night at just eight years old to perform, even on school nights.

She told Dermot: ‘My mother managed to get me into bars to sing for petty cash and I could only go in after the bar closed, so that was from midnight.

‘I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t love stinky, smoky bar rooms with drunk men fighting.

‘It did make me really hate being in the spotlight. I had stage fright for a very long time.’

Speaking about her mother, who suffered from domestic abuse at the hands of her stepfather, the singer explained that music made her ‘happy’ and her plan was that Shania would ‘be the next Tanya Tucker’.

Shania admitted she didn’t want to do it, but her mother encouraged her, saying that it was the ‘only way’ she would get anywhere. 

Despite the experience impacting her as she grew up, the country star confirmed that she doesn’t ‘regret what she did’. 

She overcame her fear of the stage while she was battling Lyme disease, before making her return to music.

The admission comes after Shania opened up to The Sunday Times about how her childhood traumas influenced her music, particularly hit tracks Black Eyes, Blue Tears and Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

She said: One thing I avoided the most in my life was becoming my mother or being in her situation. I had to break that cycle. But when people hear [Black Eyes, Blue Tears] they may not think I lived that. 

‘You have a story, that’s one thing. Then you put it into a three-minute commercial song and it’s not just a story — it’s a song. And my story was never part of a commercial career.’

Shania added that she grew up feeling ashamed of being female, being afraid to show her body because boys would take advantage of her.

After years of hiding and ‘missing out the joy of being female’ she finally accepted her curves and wrote her famous song, Man! I Feel Like a Woman! in 1997 to express her joy and empowerment about being a woman.

It comes as Shania set to take to the stage in the Glastonbury legends slot on Sunday.

The Canadian singer-songwriter is set to take to the Pyramid Stage for the coveted legends slot, filled by the likes of Johnny Cash and Diana Ross over the years.

Posting a message to X, Shania wrote: ‘The legends slot at GLASTONBURY 2024 – Another jewel in my crown!! I feel so honoured and so excited about this one!

‘Thinking about what to wear already and tell me, what should we sing together?! Let’s make history with this ultimate dream performance!!’

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Source: New York Post