The new Planet Hollywood show is light on production and heavy on the hits, to the delight of Twain’s fans
Shania Twain kicked off her third Las Vegas sit-down on Friday (May 10th). The Come On Over residency is her second at Planet Hollywood.
Shania proved she is still a big-ticket draw as she packed fans in from around the globe for this opening night at Bakkt Theater. They sang every word, hanging on to the emotion of every hit that Twain performed.
The Come on Over residency is certainly Twain’s most stripped-down Vegas show. It draws inspiration from last summer’s Queen of Me trek. Twain’s space-age world-building expands for the massive OLED wall and proscenium. Stunning desert traffic accompanies the acoustic guitar section. The Starship ST returns for “Up,” and many more surprises come to life on the back wall.
Shania also got exceedingly intimate with the crowd. For the families, there was the wholesome interaction with a nine-year-old to whom Twain gave the mic to sing a few a capella bars of “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” to a massive ovation. For the stays-in-Vegas crowd, she blurted out that she lost her virginity at 15 to a boy from Toronto. Such revelatory moments made it feel like the show was between her and a few thousand “girlfriends.”
Musically, the show is exactly what you’d hope for from Shania Twain. Poppy singalongs, feminine ballads, and tongue-in-cheek numbers combine to make her iconic and oft-cited country-pop catalog. As promised, all of her hits were present. Shania also took the opportunity to showcase where newer songs including “Waking Up Dreaming” and “Giddy Up” fit into that repertoire. And the latter is definitely an earworm still ringing.
Another highlight: Twain surprised the inaugural crowd with Canadian country star Lindsey Ell. The pair performed on the duet “Party for Two.”
Shania’s backing band was tight, and carried on even in moments where the technology keeping them in time—that is, in-ear monitors and the wedges providing “stage sound”— betrayed them. (Though those should be smoothed out in short order, should her team’s notorious attention to detail be counted on.) All four core string players, including a harpist, shined on a musical interlude leading into “From This Moment On.”
The coolest thing about Come On Over is that it’s the most “concert-style” show Twain has mounted since making her live comeback over a decade ago. The huge set pieces, floating boxes, and stage-sized top hat have gone (Well, except the Twain Town Saloon, where her biggest fans get to share a bar top with their hero).
What’s left is a legendary performer who seems to finally be able to bask in her close relationship with her fans, and has found a confidence in her voice that she was searching to regain over the last decade. It’s clear that she finally understands that her fans care for her as much as she does them. They’ll Come On Over any time Shania Twain extends the invitation.
