Shania Twain battled through a cold to give a performance in London’s Hyde Park that audience members claimed was “better than Glastonbury”.
Opening her headline set with 1997 hit Don’t be Stupid (You Know I Love You), the 58-year-old Canadian impressed an audience of thousands during her hour-and-a-half British Summer Time (BST) show, a week on from performing in the Legends slot at Glastonbury Festival.
The country singer’s vocals at Worthy Farm drew some criticism online but, despite battling sickness, fans in London said they were “jumping for joy” throughout the set.
After her second song, Twain, who was wearing a red printed Vivienne Westwood jacket and skirt and sparkling white boots, asked for a tissue from her band and told the crowd she was fighting off “sniffles” to perform the headline slot.
“I have a little cold but who cares, just a little sniffle,” she announced, seemingly unphased but turning away from the crowd several times to blow her nose during her performance.
A variety of vibrant and sparkly cowboy hats were worn by fans, and a large portion could also be seen wearing leather boots and leopard print garments in honour of Twain’s signature country style – with some sporting T-shirts emblazoned with the lyrics “let’s go girls” and “giddy up”.
With an ensemble including electric guitars, drums, keyboard and violins, Twain thanked the crowd for welcoming her back to The Hyde Park stage for the first time since 2003.
“I just wanna tell you a little bit about what this means to me – I’ve been coming to concerts here for many, many years and watching all the legends play this stage,” she said.
“I have played this stage once before, it’s been a while… here I am again and I just can’t thank you enough, you guys are so awesome thank you.
“I’m really happy right now. London, thank you for having me back.”
Twain sat down with an acoustic guitar as she led the crowd in a singalong of her hit Still the One, announcing: “London it looks like we made it.”
Performing in front of a set adorned with the word “the Twain Town Saloon with signs for ‘Cocks’ and ‘Hens’”, the country masterclass saw Twain roll out hits including From This Moment On and I’m Gonna Getcha Good before closing out the night with Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Speaking after the set, Wetherspoons pub manager Danielle Stephens said the set was “better than Glastonbury”.
“It was a fantastic night – pure 90s nostalgia,” the 33-year-old from Kingston-upon-Thames told the PA news agency.
“Everyone was jumping for joy and it was better than Glastonbury, a better vibe… the whole crowd was living their best 90s lives.”
Asked if she could share a message with Twain, Ms Stephens said: “We absolutely loved it, we’d do it again and again and again.”
Twain’s set came after a day of music which also saw singer-songwriter Anne-Marie and Irish family band The Corrs take to the Great Oak Stage.
Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks is set to play at BST in Hyde Park next Friday before Australian pop star Kylie Minogue headlines on Saturday.
