Twenty-four years ago today (April 7, 1999) was an historic day for Shania Twain — and for country music. It was on that date that Twain’s 1997 album Come on Over was certified diamond, for sales of 10 million copies, making Twain the first female country artist to earn two diamond-certified albums (her sophomore record, 1995’s The Woman in Me, was also certified diamond, in 1997).
Released in November of 1997, Come on Over was certified double platinum, for sales of 2 million units, just one month later. The record became the best-selling country album of the 1990s and of all time, as well as the best-selling studio album by a female act in any genre of all time.
Twain released 12 singles from Come on Over, including the title track. She co-wrote all 16 songs on the record with her then-husband, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who also produced the project. Three of the tunes from the album shot straight to No. 1, including “You’re Still the One,” which was certified double platinum, for sales of 2 million copies.
Shania Twain Come on Over album artwork
Twain wrote much of Come on Over while in the Caribbean: “The sunny weather gets me into writing mode,” the Canadian-born country singer shares. “Many of the songs from The Woman in Me and Come on Over were written in the tropics, so it’s a good place for me to be creative.”
Twain released two more studio albums after Come on Over: 2002’s Up! and 2017’s Now. The former sold 11 million copies but failed to produce any No. 1 hits; the latter hit No. 1 on the pop and country charts, and spawned on Top 40 hit, “Life’s About to Get Good.”
Several of the songs from Come on Over, including “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” “Honey, I’m Home,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” were included on Twain’s 2015 CD / DVD package, Shania: Still the One Live From Las Vegas.
This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.