Shania Twain On Being A Taxpayer At 11 And Anxiety Stemming From Bar Gigs: ‘It Was A Very Intimidating Environment’

etcanada.com:

Shania Twain is opening up about the childhood hardships that moulded her into today’s beloved powerhouse performer. In a recent interview on “The Louis Theroux Podcast”,the Canadian country-music sensation, who has sold over 100 million records, revealed that she began working as a bar singer at eight years old to support her family, making her a taxpayer at 11 years old.  “I didn’t start making money in bars until I was 11.

Officially, so when I was 11, I was a taxpayer. I was earning money under contract in the bars,” she revealed to the British journalist. READ MORE: Canadian Country Singer Robyn Ottolini Is ‘Freaking Out’ About Being The Opening Act For Shania Twain: ‘I Am So Excited’ Overcoming crippling stage fright and the intimidating atmosphere of strip clubs, where she sang to drunk men, Twain’s early years instilled anxiety about performing in her.   “I think if I’m being really fair to my history, and the history of the anxiety, I would say that it really was initiated from childhood and being in those bars where it was a very intimidating environment,” says Twain. “Because I didn’t want to be there.

I didn’t want to go up on that stage. I’m like, ‘Oh, but I did it for my mother.'” READ MORE: Shania Twain Serenades Lukas Gage And Chris Appleton In Sweet Wedding Video, Kim Kardashian Officiates Ceremony The challenges didn’t stop there.

Twain opens up about her stepfather’s intense abuse of her and her mother, grappling with physical and sexual violence that haunted their lives, stating: “Both my mother and father threatened to kill each other, they would confess it to me“ and “I really thought he was capable of killing us.” Through it all, Twain’s love for music and her remarkable songwriting