Shania Twain Turned Prince Down For A Collaboration, Because She Was “Too Insecure” And He Told Her She Couldn’t Swear At Paisley Park

Shania Twain country music
Courtesy of Apple Music

Shania Twain has her first album in quite some time dropping this Friday.

Her sixth studio album Queen of Me is almost here, and she sat down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to discuss a wide-range of topics, which included the new record, but also some really neat personal stories I’d never heard before.

And most notably, she talked about the time she turned down PRINCE when he asked her to collaborate.

Yes, Prince asked her to come sing with him… and she wouldn’t do it.

I’m still having a hard time wrapping my brain around that one, but as she put it, she was in the middle of a divorce when he called and invited her to Paisley Park (his famous studio in Minnesota) to feature on a new project:

“I missed out on that because Prince called me when I got divorced. We’re on the phone and he said, ‘Shania, why don’t you come to Paisley Park? I want to make the next ‘Rumors’ album with you.’

And that was the weirdest thing he could have ever have said, because Mutt, his standard of what he thought, where I could live as a standard was that album, ‘Rumors’ album. And he said that to me.”

And because she was still going through her divorce from her aforementioned ex-husband and former producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, she didn’t feel it was appropriate or the right move for her at the time… and the irony of the project was a deciding factor, too:

“So when Prince said that to me, I’m like, oh man, I’m not even divorced yet.

I’m just like, I’ve been dumped, but I’m not, obviously, divorced yet. I’m like, this is way too ironic what you’re saying. Right? And I’m such a major Prince fan.

And then on top of it, I hadn’t found my voice yet, I was still working on it. I was so far from finding it still.”

She added that mostly, a lot of it came down to the fact that she was “too insecure” to get with Prince in the studio, which I could definitely understand, but also, she is Shania Twain, after all…

“I was writing, but I was too insecure to go and get with Prince in the studio. I was too insecure, in every way.”

And my favorite part came when Shania revealed that she was cussin’ like a sailor on the phone with him during this conversation and just being herself, seeing as she was at home at the time hanging out.

But apparently, Prince told her there was no swearing allowed at Paisley Park, and she realized there was probably no way she could get through her time in the studio there without saying at least a few four letter words…

“Plus, I’m on the phone with him and I’m swearing like I always do. I mean, because I’m just at home and it’s … He said to me, ‘Well, if you do decide to come to Paisley Park, there’s no swearing allowed here.’

So that was another strike. I’m like, oh no, I love you so much, but I don’t think I could get through writing and recording an album without swearing, somewhere along the way! What are you going to do to me if I swear? I might have to stand in the corner or something.

I wasn’t sure about that. I don’t think I was ready for what all that was going to mean for me. I didn’t give up on it or anything, but then he died.”

It’s hard not to think about what could’ve been, especially because these two legendary musicians approached their art in very similar ways in a lot of aspects, and I can only imagine they would’ve come up with something absolutely brilliant together.

At the end of the day, it’s at least beyond cool for her to know that an icon like Prince would even think of her and offer to feature on his project.

Here’s the full interview if you’re interested, there’s some great stuff to dive into about her life and how this new project came to be:

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