Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties: Shania Twain, “You’re Still the One”

“You’re Still the One”

Shania Twain

Written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain

Billboard

#1 (1 week)

May 2, 1998

Radio & Records

#1 (1 week)

April 17, 1998

Shania Twain’s signature ballad tops the country charts and becomes her first crossover hit.

The Road to No. 1

Twain followed the chart-topping “Love Gets Me Every Time” with “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” which went top ten.  The third single not only returned her to No. 1 on the country chart, but became a massive pop and Adult Contemporary hit in the United States and beyond.

The No. 1

This record is so historically significant that it’s easy to lose sight of how simple and plaintive it is.

“You’re Still the One” is a perfect country-pop ballad, with a warm steel guitar bridge that was easily swapped out for the pop remix.   Unlike her next chart-topping ballad, “You’re Still the One” works best in its original country arrangement.

It’s refreshingly adult, celebrating a long term relationship that has beaten the odds and silenced the critics and naysayers who said it wouldn’t last. Twain wrote a beautiful melody and delivers it in such a way that everyone can sing along to it, even if nobody can quite replicate her delivery of it.   It’s a bit like Kenny Rogers’ “Lucille” in that regard.

It’s a testament to the longevity and depth of Come On Over that this enormous hit single ranks maybe third or fourth in terms of most remembered releases from that album.  Among all of the album’s chart-toppers, “You’re Still the One” is still the best.

The Road From No. 1

Bryan White teams up with Shania Twain for a chart-topping duet. It’s coming up next.

“You’re Still the One” gets an A.

 

Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties

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