Day six of the annual gathering for American Express presents BST Hyde Park followed headline shows from SZA, Kings Of Leon, Morgan Wallen, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams – hard acts to follow; but the queen of country pop Shania Twain did so with ease and in very fine style.
Shania Twain headlined the Great Oak Stage just as the sun was setting, a week after her “Legends” spot at Glastonbury plagued with sound issues – looking a million dollars at her London show in a Vivienne Westwood matching red mini skirt and jacket, with a white top and a pair of silver lace-up boots. Shania was ready to party. Sound was perfect here!
The set kicked off with “Don’t Be Stupid” and she tells the huge sold out crowd of circa 65,000, many in cowboy hats: “All the legends play this stage and I have played this stage before… 2003. I can’t thank you guys enough.”
She kept the big songs coming: “You Win My Love”, “Wake Up Dreaming”, “Getcha Good” and “Forever and Always”; picking up her guitar and taking to a stool to treat the audience to an acoustic sing-along of her biggest hit, “Still The One”.
“There have been a lot of people who have been with me since the release of this song,” she said as”Come On Over” began, marking Shania’s 27 years of success since her third studio album of the same name. “Come on, Harry Styles listened to it, and his mum listened to it… It’s a compliment that the music spans generations.”
Getting further into the country swing of things, “Any Man Of Mine”, “Giddy Up” and “Boots” lit up the stage. The superstar said: “The country vibe is so much a part of how folk music has developed around the world… Country music has kinda come back around in fashion, right?… I don’t care if they’re cowboy boots, wellington boots… we’re going to do some shit kicking right now!”
After a moment hugging the Great Oak that decorates the stage (“It’s thick!”), 58-year-old Ms. Twain dazzled the crowd with “From This Moment”, then came a thunderous finale, consisting of “That Don’t Impress Me Much”, “Party For Two”, “Rock This Country”, “Outta Here” – and, of course, a mammoth ending with “Man, I Feel Like A Woman”.
Shania sincerely telling the fans: “I will remember this forever, I promise you”.
Shania’s special guests line-up was topped by The Corrs, plus Anne-Marie, Elle King, Natalie Imbruglia, Cate, Nell Mescal, Natalie Shay, Dea Matrona, Hannah Grae, Germein and 27-year-old former “X Factor” runner-up Grace Davies.
Global pop star, Anne-Marie, made a surprise appearance to introduce Davies, the winner of emerging artist public vote competition, presented by Volvic.
This year, Anne-Marie and Volvic teamed up to encourage UK emerging artists to compete for a chance of performing at BST Hyde Park.
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American Express presents BST Hyde Park continues next week, on Friday 12 July, with headliner Stevie Nicks, plus Brandi Carlisle, Anna Calvi, Paris Paloma, Baby Queen, Nina Nesbitt, Siobhan Winifred, Catty, Talia Rae, Stevie Bill and Nina Versyp.
* Check out our coverage of SZA, Kings Of Leon, Morgan Wallen, and Robbie Williams at BST Hyde Park 2024 in our “Live Zone”. More to come soon… *
Photos: Dave Hogan
Words: Christopher Weston
