Shania Twain Swaps Her Brad Pitt Lyric for a New Heartthrob at 2022 People’s Choice Awards

Katie Atkinson
·3 min read
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Shania Twain proved just what makes her a Music Icon when she accepted that prize and performed a medley of her hits at Tuesday’s (Dec. 6) People’s Choice Awards.

One of the highlights of her performance — which included her breakthrough 1995 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Any Man of Mine,” her crossover late-’90s pop smashes “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” and her latest single “Waking Up Dreaming” — is when she swapped the famous spoken-word “Brad Pitt” line from “Impress” for a fellow Canadian star.

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“OK, so you’re Ryan Reynolds!” she said sassily as the cameras cut to the surprised Deadpool star, who was on hand to accept the People’s Icon award later in the evening. Reynolds mouthed, “Oh my God, me?!” from the audience.

In addition to the performance, Twain also gave a heartfelt acceptance speech as she accepted the Music Icon award from her friend, actor Billy Porter.

“Am I dreaming? I really am, I think,” she said to start. “Thank you so much for presenting me with this award and for highlighting my work as having a significant impact. I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to say, but that’s always my wish: to inspire people with my music. I always miss my mother right now at these moments in life. She would have loved watching her little girl living this moment right now. But my fans, my friends, my team – you are the ones who really fill that space. Not my mother’s space, but you’re here with me and you’re celebrating, we’re celebrating together, and you’ve made me feel loved and special my whole working life. And I will always be grateful for that, thank you.

“From a very young age, I turned to songwriting as a form of escapism,” she added. “This is my go-to place. It never occurred to me how powerful lyrics can become when you’re able to record them and share them with the whole world. It’s a great honor to be respected as a songwriter. But the biggest honor for me is knowing people have found strength and inspiration in what i have to sing, in my work. So thank you, I love you for that.”

She also highlighted her role as a fashion icon, noting that early in her career, she was just piecing outfits together with what she had. “I just went to my closet and picked out whatever I had, or went to a department store and picked out the budget things, because I didn’t have a big budget. With that, a sharp pair of scissors and a big imagination, i just cut and pulled and chopped … and hoped for the best.”

Twain ended the speech with some words of inspiration for her young fans. “I just want to say: Giddy-up, kids. Embrace your individuality and your crazy ideas. Just be brave. Let’s remember, there is power in numbers, we are in this together, love is love, and when a door slams in your face, take a freaking run and leap at your door and kick it down! You won’t regret it.

“All I have to say is: Be the queen of you,” she concluded, tipping a cowgirl hat to her upcoming sixth studio album, Queen of Me, due Feb. 3, 2023.

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