Despite her record-breaking sales achievements in the U.S. and her native Canada since hitting the commercial big league in 1995, Twain remains largely a specialized taste across most of Europe. But the artist and her label are taking a highly proactive approach to amending that situation with the release of an "international" edition of her "Come On Over" album and some high-profile personal promotion.

Since its release in the U.S. last November, the original "Come On Over" has swiftly climbed to triple-platinum status, icing the cake of her achievement with the breakthrough album "The Woman In Me," certified for 10 million U.S. sales. The new version of the album was released in most European territories Feb. 16, with a March 9 street date in the U.K. And even ahead of her scheduled personal appearances, early signs point to European media acceptance of the introductory single, "You're Still The One."

The track has had early playlist additions at outlets ranging from Capital FM London and BRMB Birmingham in England to Radio Lodz in Lodz, Poland; DRS 3 in Zurich; and Radio Stockholm. Twain came to Europe early in January for a round of promotional interviews and appearances, and she breaks rehearsals for her first tour (due to start in the U.S. in May) to return this month. Commitments included a performance of "You're Still The One" on the U.K.'s widely viewed "National Lottery Live" show on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14.

Twain and her husband, producer/co-writer Robert "Mutt" Lange, have retuned about 50% of the album. "It was really just a matter of taking the opportunity to have a second chance at playing with these songs," Twain says. "I think [we've created] a better album. My music is influenced by rock, R&B, pop, country; it's so varied, and I find it so hard to accept being pigeonholed."

Although label and media executives in Europe agree that country-related music continues to be somewhat cold-shouldered across the continent by daytime radio and peak-time TV alike, Twain denies that the revamp of "Come On Over" amounts to a "de-twanging" of the album. "The album even as it is [before the revamp] isn't country-sounding," she says, "so we don't have to change it to make it not country."

Nevertheless, Twain admits to being perplexed by country music's general inability to mine platinum, or even gold, across the European borders. "I think there is a sound that is more American that maybe wouldn't be appreciated over here [in Europe]. You know what song we were listening to that we had a good chuckle about? 'Cottoneye Joe' [the 1994 "barn-dance" novelty that was a European smash for Rednex]. It's really funny how a song like that was not a hit in America and it was so huge in Europe.

"We thought, 'This is the boat we're in. Why things are so different we'll never know, because that is such a hoedown kind of song.' "

Mercury's London-based European marketing manager, Peter Schultz, admits, "There's too much of a long history of country artists never having success in Europe [to be able to] ignore it, but there's no reason to think we won't have success."

Schultz says that prospects for "Come On Over" are "looking fantastic," adding, "This is the first time that Shania has come over and made a concerted effort to break into the international market. When the last record exploded in the States, of course there were huge demands on her time. This time around, she's not going to turn her back on [North] America, but there's a recognition of, 'Let's make that next step.' "

The recent European jaunt was not Twain's first; she spent time in London as "The Woman In Me" was beginning to break early in 1995. As Schultz stresses, the international campaign for that album was not without its triumphs, notably in Australia, where she undertook promotion and where the record "absolutely exploded," in the executive's words. Schultz adds that "The Woman In Me" also sold in "modest quantities" in Germany, Switzerland, and Norway.

"You're Still The One" is gathering a healthy collection of U.K. adds at regional commercial stations, among them Fox FM in Oxford, where it sits next to more familiar British radio staples such as Elton John and Madonna. "It does fit comfortably on either side," says head of music Mark Chivers. "It's got a certain country sound to it, I suppose, but it's more American adult contemporary, not so far from Wilson Phillips a couple of years ago. [The song] is in my head all the time, and we keep getting a lot of calls about it."

Chivers feels, like many programmers, that it is often the visuals of country-tinged music rather than its sound that keeps it from a wider European audience. "It's often the image rather than the music," he says. "I remember a Garth Brooks single a while ago where they ensured that the cover didn't have his stetson on it."
The international version of "Come On Over" uses different artwork than its North American counterpart, and Jonathan Green, Mercury U.K. marketing director, says that reflects the different nature of the marketplace.

"The packaging for Shania's European launch is absolutely key," he acknowledges. "All the images we're using have been originated in the U.S., but we're using ones that will appeal to the broadest possible audience here. The inner photos are from the [electronic press kit] used in America. We don't want to make her look country, because we feel she has a building adult contemporary audience in the U.K. and, we hope, in Europe. At the same time, she's not turning her back on her country audience."

Top Sounds, an independent retailer in Bishop Auckland in the northeast of England, reports healthy sales of the original "Come On Over," which it has been selling over the counter and via its mail-order business for an attractive 12.99 pounds (about $21.50). "We were able to do that because PolyGram U.K. was stocking it very quickly after the U.S. release," says director David Edkins. "We'll have to run that stock down now that we know the new one's coming out."

Optimistic as she is about the new European campaign, Twain is keeping her expectations in check regarding her planned debut shows on the Continent later in the year.