Retro Single Review: Shania Twain, “When”

1998 | Peak:  #14 (Canada); #18 (U.K.)

The closest thing in Twain’s catalog to a lost hit, “When” was released as the follow up to “You’re Still the One” in the United Kingdom.  Twain even shot a video for the song, which consists mostly of her playing in traffic while dressed like an angel.

“When” has a different tone than most of Come On Over.  As the only song that deals with heartbreak, it’s thematically different from the rest of the set.   The lyrics are just tongue-in-cheek enough to keep her away from self-pity territory, and the melody of the chorus pushes her to one of her best vocal performances.

Because it came before the very big pop hits in the U.K. and after all of them in Canada, “When” has the added bonus of being a Come On Over hit that didn’t suffer from overexposure, making it sound fresher than its counterparts today.

Written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain

Grade: B+

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH7VoJJh84k&ob=av2e