Country Music Memories: Twain’s ‘The Woman in Me’ Makes History

Nov. 17, 1997, was an historic day for Shania Twain, and for country music: It was on that date, 24 years ago today, that the singer’s sophomore album, The Woman in Me, was certified diamond, signifying sales of more than 10 million units.

The Woman in Me became the first record by a female artist to sell in excess of 10 million units. The album spawned six No. 1 hits and has now sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Twain wrote or co-wrote every song but one on the album with her then-husband, producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who wrote the chart-topping hit “You Win My Love” by himself.

The success of The Woman in Me was surprising to everyone, including Twain herself, as her self-titled debut project didn’t even break the Top 40; it also did not include any songs written by Twain. But with The Woman in Me, the Canadian found her musical footing and has gone on to release three more studio albums, including Come on Over, which has sold more than 40 million copies and is the best-selling album by a female artist, in any genre, of all time.

Twain has sold more than 85 million albums and remains one of the top-selling artists of all time. The Woman in Me is available for purchase on Amazon.

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