After losing voice, Shania Twain announces comeback

NEW YORK: Shania Twain, the crossover country star whose huge success in the 1990s was followed by troubled years in which she lost her voice and husband, is ready with a comeback album.

Twain, the top-selling woman in country music history, announced that she will put out a fifth album, "Now," on September 29 -- her first studio release since 2002.

The Canadian-born singer unveiled the album´s first single, "Life´s About to Get Good," a buoyant tune about surviving setbacks that, true to Twain´s style, is driven by a pop rhythm.

"Life´s about pain / It´s all about forgiving and the will to walk away," Twain sings.

Twain, 51, wrote the album on her own after working on previous music with her then husband, the reclusive producer Mutt Lange.

The two divorced after Lange began a relationship with Twain´s close friend, the singer said.

Faced with both emotional turmoil and dysphonia, a vocal ailment, Twain said she lost her voice and required extensive therapy and treatment to sing again.

Twain, who has already returned to live performances, said she had to overcome fear to work on "Now."

"Of course it was scary coming out after all these years and writing an album on my own, which I did on purpose to push myself and really find and rediscover myself as a songwriter," she said Friday on NBC´s "Today" show before a morning concert in New York´s Rockefeller Center.

Twain has sold more than 75 million albums as she found success beyond the confines of country music with songs such as "That Don´t Impress Me Much," "You´re Still the One" and "I´m Gonna Getcha Good!"

Her sound, which brings pop production and rhythms to her country vocals, has proven to be a major influence in Nashville, with younger country artists routinely pursuing the crossover style.