Canadian Music Hall of Fame Honors Shania Twain
The annual JUNO Awards are a highlight on the music industry calendar in Canada, and this year the event promises to be a 40th anniversary celebration of note. A highlight of the program for country music fans will be the induction of Canadian born all-time best-selling female artist Shania Twain into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on March 27. With a total of 187 awards – 12 of which are JUNO awards – to her name and more than 45 million albums sold world-wide, Shania is without a doubt a worthy recipient of this honor.
President and CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), Melanie Berry, noted in a statement that “Shania Twain revolutionized the look and sound of country music, and truly is one of the most accomplished and celebrated music artists of her era”. Her world-wide fan-base would no doubt agree. Born and raised in Timmins, Ontario, Shania also has the distinction of having her 1997 album ‘Come on Over’ placed as the sixth biggest selling album of all time. Fans will have the opportunity of getting to know more about their favorite country star when her autobiography is released later this year, plus she will be hosting a television series titled ‘Why Not?’ produced by the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Past achievements for this talented music star include being named 1999 Entertainer of the Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music – interestingly, Shania Twain as the first non-US citizen to claim the Country Music Association Award. In 2002, Country Music Television ranked Shania at number seven in the list of ’40 Greatest Women of Country Music’. Moreover, she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2003, while her hometown renamed a street for her, presented her with the ceremonial key to the city, as well as building the Shania Twain Center, featuring a range of memorabilia documenting her career. In 2005 she was invested as an Officer in the ‘Order of Canada’ – an honor of merit administered by the Governor General-in-Council on behalf of the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II.
The JUNO Awards include a week of special events at various venues in Toronto, culminating in the awards on March 27, 2011. Events include a 40th Anniversary Concert Series at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern; the JUNO Tour of Canadian Art; JUNO Sole at the Bata Shoe Museum; and JUNO Week at the Ontario Science Centre.