Much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ segments, readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past. So in a quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday we introduced a new retrospective segment – ‘TGJ Replay’.
Unlike its ‘Rewind’ and ‘Vault’ predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase albums (and eras) from a library of pop music hits. Come on down memory lane with us to reflect on the best-selling album of all time by a female act – none other than ‘Come On Over’ from the Queen of Country Pop Shania Twain:
Like so many artists, 1996 saw Shania Twain learn that prosperity is indeed a double-edged sword. For, despite enjoying the success of her 12x platinum sophomore album ‘The Woman In Me’, Twain and team were plagued with trying to craft an equally successful follow-up.
Unbeknownst to her at the time, the assortment of hits she would pen would collectively go on to incarnte 1997’s ‘Come On Over’ – one of the best selling albums of all time. Led by single ‘Love Gets Me Everytime’….
Revolutionary on many fronts (for the country music scene), the Canadian sex kitten garnered much press for the album’s pop fused numbers and upping her sex symbol status in ways no country artist had done before her. This was evidenced by the success of her biggest crossover hit ‘You’re Still the One’…
The success of ‘One’ helped sales of the album skyrocket as, in just three years, the album sold nearly 20 million copies – snatching the title of best selling album by a female from fellow Canadian act Alanis Morisette. Such led to Twain’s inclusion on VH1’s inaugural union of top-selling divas Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and Gloria Estefan:
On the hems of singles ‘Don’t Be Stupid’, ‘Come On Over’, and ‘Rock This Country’, Twain strategically straddled the lines of pop and country without leaving either side too isolated from her brand of “just enough” sexy and guitar driven footstompers like ‘Honey I’m Home’…
Aside from ‘Come On Over’ being the best-selling album in history by a female artist (40 million to date), it is also the best selling country album of all time. Released in 1997, the album proved itself to be a hitmaking factory well into the next millenium – shipping hit song after hit song like 1999’s ‘You’ve Got A Way’ and fan favorites ‘From This Moment On’ and ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman’…
In the absence of Youtube or digital-driven sales, Twain became the first and only female artist to have three consecutive diamond-selling albums to her name. And, despite a decade passing since her last full-length studio release, Twain is still in continuous mention with today’s top country divas.
While we impatiently await the singer’s next offerings, we look back on the country pop queen’s blueprint of success – and hope one day Taylor Swift will follow (i.e. – do away with bubblegum hits). For, fans of Swift may liken her sales and style to Twain for their crossover appeal, but to that, we at TGJ have this to say:
Taylor could never!
Aww, I love Taylor.
Sorry, just can’t help it, but I agree, Shania is the country queen though.
Do u understand now what I mean when I say mainstream music went downhill since 2000?
Even country, the genre the world is not interested at all except for the USA had Shania Twain. Now the big country girl is Taylor Swift. I mean… it´s pathetic. She can´t even sing
Shania was doing big in the USA before Come on Over, but the rest of the world knew her with this one
20x platinum in the US alone. Shania came close to seeing Thriller-like sales with this album, and none of the singles topped the charts. That’s how bad a b**** she was. She didn’t even need #1’s to slap everyone else around in the face. Hell, this album was out during The Backstreet Boys/Nsync/Baby One More Time/Titanic soundtrack era, and she outsold all them by a considerable margin.
This just proves that 90s was superior to 2010s. Real chart diversity. Real sales. Your silly ass Rihanna/Gaga/Katy/Taylor/Bruno aren’t f****** with the moves that were made back then. Today’s pop stars and their silly digital sales are like toy guns by comparison to what was happening pre-2001.
I feel bad for anyone born after 1985. Your coming of age music, pop culture and trends is just altogether weak in contrast to what it was like to be a teenager in the 80s and 90s.
No one born after 1985 cares tho. Lol
It’s nice that past pop stars had bigger sales but really who cares? Today’s gen has so much more by way of technology and ways to receive music and entertainment. We have more options and we get to dictate what’s popular. Teens of the past were slaves to things like radio, MTV and the system dictating to them. If my fave having less sales is the sacrifice for my being able to have more options to choose from and convenience, then that’s fine. I’ll take an iPhone that I can add new music to with the click of a button over a walkman ANYDAY! Lol It’s 2013! Embrace today or get left behind with only your memories to keep you company.
It matters because your generation has no concept of true artistry, musicality, how to craft an album, cultivate a lasting audience, etc etc. All you know is commercialism, which is sad. It used to be that artists skyrocketed on talent alone and then crossed over into endorsements and magazine covers. Now any trick can toss on a neon wig, plump up their cakes and throw out a jingle bells hook single for attention just to start hawking mass produced crap made in china. When the game becomes JUST about cashing checks you don’t get real music!
Oh SHANIA !!!!! the world needs you !!!!! this is an unique woman: she is damn beautiful, she has a lovely voice and has the talent of writing excellent songs!!! she is perfect… and COME ON OVER proves that! this record is just a masterpiece each song is flawless. she is definetely the queen of country and not even taylor swift can be compared to her. shania has sooooo much talent and besides she is sucha humble person, she has earned so may achievements,some of them were mentioned in the post and yet is no diva at all. please shania come back soon!!!!
i knew you stupid queens would bring up taylor swift. stop f****** hating the girl is doing her thing. the tweens and teens love her. she will probably be played out in two or three years anyway. s*** we are in a new age. this is a new generation. they have terrible taste so the f*** what. maybe if my generation would support the talented artists we wouldn’t have this f****** problem. deal f***!!!
I’m tired of hearing that “maybe if you supported blah-blah-blah…” line. I don’t know what “generation” you belong to, but I support plenty of artists and buy my favs music on a regular basis. It still goes commercially unnoticed because the corporate machine refuses to give them the roll out and promotion needed for commercial success. They just dump the album on the floor and force the artist and their fans to fend for themselves. Hell, if someone Charlie Wilson got the label, radio and promotional support that Taylor gets, he’d probably go platinum.
Stop acting like fans are letting their favorites flop when fans have no control over the politics of what goes into making an song/album successful. Record labels and radio programmers are picking and choosing who and what they want to get behind and if Artist X isn’t on that list, then they are basically screwed, unless an inordinate and virtually unrealistic number of the GP decides to scream their support.
and who are you? one fan out of millions boo boo. look at brandy that b**** had a lot of promo and her album didnt sell s***. where are the starrz??? huh? how can artists like sade and maxwell drop albums every ten years but still sell??? their fans that’s why!!! put ur money where your mouth is and stop downloading their s*** for free is what im saying. the end!!!!
When I tell you Shania Twain DID THAT when she released “Come On Over,” she DID THAT! I agree with everything everyone else ^^^^^^^^^^ has said.
We are talking 40 Million sold WW. Oh yeah, and she can actually SING!
I was lucky enough I attend the “Come On Over” tour. Flawless to say the least.
YES! YES! & F****** YES!
All I will say is that…
1) I own this album
2) I played and still am playing the f*** outta this album
3) 40M WW – SHANIA IS THE QUEEN.
That is all…
From this moment on is my favorite track of hers.
While todays’ top acts slash prices crazy just to top albums chart,this album peaked at no.2 (it never topped billboard 200) and spawned no no.1 hit but still outsold every single studio album ever released by a female artist ever
Amazing that the album sold 40 million and yet it never topped the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 2. In 1999
Shania Twain was a beautiful ass goddess.
“You’re still the one” is still the ish.
yesssssss @duch! im so tired of these pissy queens whining and complaining about the state of music. its not 1995 anymore no ones selling 20 million except adele. we can buy singles & download s*** for free now. no one wants to hear big voiced divas screaming over 1998 ballads. we wanna dance and have fun. dont be mad because ur fav is irrelevant support them and make them relevant again s*** wah wah wah
Hmmm. Maybe the real reason artists aren’t selling 20 million anymore is because no one takes that “dance and have fun” s*** you’re talking about seriously enough to buy 20 million copies of it. People DID take “big voiced divas screaming over 1998 ballads” seriously enough to make it their business to buy their albums in bulk. You could download s*** for free in the 90s too. Who didn’t have Napster, Ares, Bearshare, Limewire and Kazaa in 1998-2000? I did. And still my favs sales back then avalanches the sales of today’s so-called hitmakers. Why? Because people took them and their music much more seriously than they take those considered pop stars of today. The problem is that today’s music is as disposable as Kleenex. No one wants to invest in what passes for a hit these days. Not even the fans themselves…that’s why you spend more time at YouTube than you do at the record store. It’s also the reason why Adele (someone who screams over ballads similarly to the way divas of the past did) sold. She was confirmation of everything I’m talking about. Serious music made by serious artists sell. Childish music made by childish artists don’t. Period.
gurl you are preaching to the choir boo. people had napster(like i did) but they still bought music regardless. especially when they started to crack down on illegal downloaders. gurl please adele got lucky because she is not the only one making that kind of music. my point is this is a new generation. mtv, bet, vh1 doesnt play music videos, we download for free, we have iPods, times have changed stop whining about it s***
Preach!!!!
@ Absolved ^^^^^^^
Shania! Shania! Shania! That was my gurl and still is! Come On Over >>>>>>>>>. Still The One was probaly one of my favs of all time up into that point. And I’m not even a big country fan. Come On Over still slays today. I always wondered if any country/pop female could ever take her place. And over the years no one has can close. Carrie Underwood is my new fav though but Shania will always b that one. 20 million albums n 3 years! Shania was doing it! Musicians were selling albums bac then. Everything is f*cked up today. Yeah this generation has so many amazing things but the 90s >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2000s.
rihanna shud take notes! u dnt have to release an album every year to b relevant!
She’s not doing it to be “relevant” she does it because she can and she loves music. And lets get real Rihanna could take a 4 year break and still be relevant she too unique to be forgotten.
SLAYAGE!!!
If there’s one country album i truly adore its this one! Timelesss album!! Grew up listening to this. My mum used to always play it!!
40 Million copies sold!!!!!!! Q
Queen Of Country!!!!!
SHANIA IS JUST THE BEST FEMALE ARTIST EVER!!! NO JUST IN COUNTRY BUT IN ALL GENRES… THIS WOMAN SHOWED THE WORLD THAT COUNTRY MUSIC CAN BE LISTENED AROUND THE WORLD. SHE MADE IT MORE INTERESTING. SHE ALSO INFLUENCED A LOT IN POP MUSIC, “COME ON OVER” IS A CLASSIC RECORD. HER MUSIC IS TIMELESS AND MOREOVER SHE IS VERY CHARISMATIC. IF THIS ALBUM WOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED NOW, SHE WOULD DEFINETELY SLAY EVERY FEMALE ARTIST NOWADAYS. AND IS A FACT. ARTISTS NOWDAYS NEED THE KIND OF CHARISMA AND TALENT THAT SHANIA HAS. IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO CRITICIZE OTHER ARTISTS BUT IS THE TRUTH
Yes! I don’t listen to country music, but this album is amazing, I have it and I still listen to it, Shania slayed when she was releasing albums.
She shits on taylor.
Shes a dumb b**** tho. For not making any more albums. Imagine how bigger she could be if she had released an album 2 years after come on over and not 6years . She could outsell whitney if shed release more albums tbh smh
I don’t know any music except “I Feel Like A Woman” .
I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket
And a comb up his sleeve-just in case
And all that extra hold gel in your hair oughtta lock it
‘Cause Heaven forbid it should fall outta place
Oh-oo-oh, you think you’re special
Oh-oo-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt
That don’t impress me much.
My Fav. part..great album but if you ask me didn’t deserved to be best-selling album of all time by a female act IMO, there are great album better than this but the US sales help this album to have better number than others.
Albums like The Bodyguard Sountrack had way more impact everywhere, and it is supposed to have sold around 40 million copies too. The thing is people who love country in the USA really buy country music, so that helped to this enormous amount of copies sold for Come on Over. She could never do that again worldwide though. And she stopped making music cos she is clearly not inspired or she knows she lost her touch or part of her voice or who knows. She´s probably a clever woman and she doesn´t want to show what´s wrong. I agree she is not the best female or something. That´s obvious.
But she´s obviously the queen of modern country and this era was amazing. I´m not a country lover like most people in the world aren´t, but I loved this (and I also love some songs by Dolly Parton and Emilou Harris 🙂 )