Shania Twain is the subject of a new Netflix documentary. Directed by Joss Crowley, Not Just A Girl follows the singer from her roots in small-town Ontario to her chart-topping ascendancy in the ’90s and early ’00s.
Besides new and archival interviews with Twain, the film features insights from famous fans, collaborators, and experts, such as Avril Lavigne, Diplo, Kelsea Ballerini, Lionel Richie, Orville Peck, and journalist Eve Barlow. In the trailer for Not Just A Girl, it also looks like fellow country-pop crossover artist Taylor Swift will be appearing in some capacity.
“She was the first person to break that door open and go across the music genres,” Richie says. “She was that trailblazer.”
Twain’s breakout album The Woman In Me was released in 1995, featuring hits like “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” and “Any Man Of Mine.” It was followed by Come On Over in 1997 and Up! in 2002, and all three went on to become some of the top-selling records of all time. They were also all co-written and produced by Mutt Lange, Twain’s then-husband. Towards the end of the decade, the singer stepped away from music after Lange had an affair with her best friend.
“It was similarly intense to losing my parents,” Twain says in the trailer. “I thought I’d lost my voice forever, I thought that was it.”
Though she didn’t release another album until 2017's NOW, more music is on the way. Not Just A Girl follows Twain into the studio as she readies her sixth LP. The documentary was produced by Mercury Studios—part of Universal Music Group—which includes Twain’s label Mercury Nashville.
Not Just A Girl will be accompanied by a greatest hits compilation Not Just A Girl (The Highlights), featuring the songs used in the documentary. The title track is a new release.
Not Just A Girl premieres on Netflix on July 26.