Shania Twain Vows To Fight For More Inclusivity In Country Music As She Accepts CMT Equal Play Award

That do impress me much! Shania Twain stepped out on the CMT Music Awards red carpet ahead of receiving her major Equal Play Award!

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Image Credit: Getty Images for CMT

Leave it to Shania Twain to always bring her fashion A-game to any red carpet! Tonight, at the CMT Music Awards, the icon arrived rocking a red hair look that matched her fierce ensemble. The “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” songstress stepped out in a red and black gown that cut out at the lower end of her hips, showing off her incredible figure. Shania’s gown also featured a thigh-high slit and her thick black platform pumps peeked out of the long train.

Shania Twain rocks sultry red and black gown at CMT Music Awards 2023. (Shutterstock)

The 57-year-old looked absolutely fabulous and shocked fans with her dyed red locks, following a string of different colored locks over the last several months! She showed up to the Toady Show in early January with pastel pink hair before appearing at the Republic Records Artists Party on February 4th. She later stepped out at the Grammy Awards with a neon red wig on that went with her wild black and white polka-dotted look. The pink, blonde and red are all a major difference from her usual, and iconic, brown curls!

“There’s a very low percentage of women in music, and we don’t have equality right now and we have to keep striving for that, and it’s an honor for me to be representing that somehow,” Shania explained to Cody Alan of CMT on the red carpet about the Equal Play honor. “Music is for everyone, country music is for everyone. It is all inclusive to me, it’s a family and everyone is welcome.”

Shania Twain accepting the Equal Play Award at the 2023 CMT Awards. (Getty Images for CMT)

Later this evening at the CMT Music Awards, Shania received the Equal Play Award, given by the network to an “advocate for elevating diverse and underrepresented voices in country music.” Previous recipients included Black country pioneer Linda Martell and Jennifer Nettles. Megan Thee Stallion introduced ‘Hot Girl Shania’s award and hyped her up like only she could! The star then took the stage in a tiny purple Chanel set with her bare abs showing! “Let me starts by saying, let’s go girls!” Shania kicked off her speech like only she could! “Now listen, when I wrote the phrase, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,’ I had no idea at the time it would become an undercurrent of a decades long career… It’s amazing how one statement could inspire so many and it brings me so much joy.”

She recalled her first ever award as a country music artist, which was the CMT Rising Star award at the 19993 CMT Music Awards! “Thank you to CMT for pushing the equal play agenda… CMT holds a very special place in my heart and I promise I will continue to campaign the many outstanding country artists who are not currently played, streamed, signed or awarded asthey should be,” Shania told the crowd. “I believe in a more inclusive country music. This is a genre of music with a rich history that raised and nurtured my songwriting, performances and career. Currently the industry standard does a disservice in this. We need to close the gap and provide an equal workspace for all the talent out there.”

“Lily (Rose), Tenille (Townes), Lindsay (Ell), Hailey (Witters), Breland, Robyn (Ottoloni, Mickey (Guyton) and more and I hope this spotlight on my ‘Queen Of Me’ tour impresses you much and lifts up the careers of these really talented people on their journey,” Shania gushed over her upcoming tour opening acts, concluding, “Let’s ensure all of our artists get equal pay, regardless of gender age or race!”

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