“It’s just extraordinary to have a friend like Wynonna. Great lady, incredible life story and one of my favorite voices ever,” Twain continues. “You can’t talk about country music and not talk about the Judds.”
Beyond the female artists she’s personally come to know and love, Twain made sure to mention the trailblazers whose iconic songs laid a foundation for feminist anthems in country music. As the star behind anthemic girl power classics like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” Twain has a unique appreciation for the women who came before her and set a precedent for those kinds of songs.
“If you know country music, then you would probably know that ‘Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad’ is considered one of Tammy Wynette‘s signature hits. It’s been given attention for its strong feminine lyrics,” Twain points out during her show. “I remember being very attracted to that element of the song, just her putting her foot down. I just remember thinking, ‘Whoa, that’s sassy.'”
That song — and others like it — has lessons to share that extend far beyond country music, Twain explains. “I think that women are misunderstood a lot of the time just because we have maybe even so far as to say feminist views, or to say that we stand up for ourselves with courage and defiance almost … Sometimes we just do have to put our foot down and put it down hard, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t love the men in our lives, and that we don’t need the men in our lives,” she says.