Shania Twain's Star Debuts on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood’s Walk of Fame received its 2,442nd star in the category of recording Thursday afternoon when country superstar Shania Twain was officially welcomed to Hollywood Boulevard.

Officials rolled out the red carpet for the unveiling ceremony attended by Twain's fans and colleagues in front of the W Hollywood hotel at 6270 Hollywood Blvd.

Her career accomplishments include more than 57 million albums sold in the U.S. and Canada, multiple platinum album sales in 32 countries, the eighth biggest selling album of all time in the U.S., 18 songs reaching the Top 10 (eight of those reached No. 1) and the title of country’s top selling female artist of all time.

As media and crew set up, fans began crowding the streets patiently awaiting the arrival of country’s favorite songstress.

Patch caught up with a few of Twain’s biggest fans, some of whom had dressed in attire from the singer’s home country of Canada or carried hand-crafted signs. Some had flown in from out of town to support their idol.

“I’ve been a fan of hers ever since I was in elementary school. What’s funny is I think my generation is more into Britney. It’s not just her music—it’s the person that she is. I value my life like she does and that’s why I’m here today to support her.” – Gil Luque

“We’re from Ottawa, Ontario. We planned our trip to LA around Shania’s ceremony.” – Rob Wolthuizen

“We are proud to be from Canada — where she comes from!” – Margaret McLaughlin

“Her music just makes me happy. I love it. She’s such a great person too. I got her autobiography and read it. I have all of her CDs and DVDs.” – Beth Leger

“I’m hoping she’ll sign me so I can get it tattooed. I have 162 celebrity signature tattoos including Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. I came out here from Arizona today to hopefully meet her." –  Melissa Harmon

As the crowd continued to grow, star tour buses drove by, incessantly circling the area in the hopes of providing their customers with a glimpse of an A-list celebrity. Around 11:30 a.m., a fan shouted, “I see her” and Twain’s emergence initiated a cheering session.

Hollywood Walk of Fame Chairman John Pavlik took the podium to kick off the ceremony. Pavlik touched on Twain’s rise to stardom and listed many of her extraordinary career accomplishments, to which he remarked:

“Most amazing of all, Shania has shot beyond all expected music boundaries with just four studio albums—three of which have received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 10 million copies in the U.S. She’s the only female artist to have three consecutive albums sell more than 10 million copies.”

Rob Light, a Creative Artists Agency partner and head of its music department, mentioned how Twain is not only a talented musician, but also a wonderful person.

“I remember being in Nashville for the ACM Awards for which Shania had multiple nominations," he said. "The day before the ceremony, she left her hotel to go out for a run and realizing that she was passing our offices, she stopped in—no entourage, no handlers, sweatsuit and all, just to say hello. She asked to meet all the assistants and the staff who worked on her behalf just to say thank you. That’s the kind of person that she is.”

After Light’s introduction, actress Bo Derek took the stage, hugged Twain and shared her experience with getting to know the singer.

“Shania was unknown at the time when she just cold-called us out of the blue," Derek said. "She wanted to be photographed by my late husband John Derek, whose own star is just down the street. I have to say I’ve never met anyone like her. She knew exactly what she wanted and hung in there until she got it."

Derek joked about her late husband being a perfectionist and often blunt on the job, which often sent girls running from a photo session in tears. That wasn't the case with Twain, she said.

“She and John worked together perfectly and in the end, she had her album cover for the Woman in Me,” Derek said.

Derek explained that Shania is a Native American name that means "on my way" and said it's been "a blast" watching Twain on her way right up to today.

After Derek, Pavlik took the mic to declare June 2 as Shania Twain Day in Hollywood before summoning the singer to the stage.

“I don’t even know where to begin but I had to write a few things down because I wanted to relish today and not forget anything—it’s just too special for that,” explained Twain, who said that she would be reading excerpts from her memoir, From This Moment On.

Twain waved to her fans, thanked her management, husband, sister and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and began her acceptance speech:

“So why am I here today? I mean why is a girl from Timmons, Ontario, standing here getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I really don’t know! Where I come from and where I am today, it’s a small miracle to be honest that I am standing here but I’m here to accept an incredible honor and to give thanks for my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s a great pleasure to be able to do that in person. It’s so surreal and I feel the need to put it in perspective out loud so I’m going to quickly run through this stuff.”

Twain dived into a story about how having a child really helped her put things into perspective and shared tales of explaining to her young son Eja about what it means to be a celebrity.

Twain closed her speech with an excerpt from her book , which explained her take on being a star:

“I remember standing backstage with Eja one night watching the arena fill up. My 2½-year-old had been reading a book about ants earlier in the day and I guess they were still fresh in his mind because Eja turned to me and observed, 'Mommy they look like ants,' referring to all the people streaming in from the distance. 'You’re the queen and they are all here for you.' It’s amazing how children can be perceptive beyond their years. That he understood my role as the one they were all coming to see.

The people all the way across the venue did resemble ants from that distance and they were all there to see me so I can understand this child’s logic and how he made the connection however, I have never wanted Eja to be confused by the image of celebrity and develop a false impression that I was in any way superior to anyone.

So I reminded him that I wasn’t the queen. In fact I said, I work for those people. They don’t work for me the way that all the ants do for their queen. They are here to be entertained by me and I have to get up there and make them happy.”

After the story, Twain addressed her audience with some humble final words:

“And that is the truth of being a star. Our job is to make you happy and entertain you through thick or thin and I can tell you that I do that with the greatest pleasure. Thank you all so much.”