Shania Twain reveals COVID-19 pneumonia inspired new song in Netflix documentary

Shania Twain has spoken about her COVID-19 ordeal in her new documentary, Not Just a Girl, revealing the deadly virus left her struggling to breathe. 

The Canadian singer shared candid details about her coronavirus diagnosis in the Netflix film, after enduring a 'very bad bout' of the infectious disease that severely inhibited her airwaves. The experience was so impactful that it inspired her to write a song entitled, What You Gonna Do With That Air? 

"It's about the anxiety of running out of air," Shania explains in Not Just a Girl as she sits down in the studio to record the pop anthem. 

"I had a very bad bout with Covid, with Covid pneumonia, and it was very touch-and-go. I was feeling like, oh my God, I just have to breathe." 

What You Gonna Do With That Air? channels Shania's desperation to survive, presenting a challenge to both herself and listeners to embrace the time they have left on Earth. It will feature on her forthcoming sixth album, also called, Not Just a Girl. 

The Grammy Award winner discussed more of her health issues at another point of the documentary, detailing her 'scary symptoms' after developing Lyme Disease from a tick bite in 2003. Shania revealed how the condition almost ended her career, preventing her from pursuing music as she normally would. 

"I was on stage feeling dizzy, I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was going to fall off the stage," she recalls. "It just went into this strange flanging, lack of control of the airflow. I didn't understand it. I thought I'd lost my voice forever, I thought I'd never ever sing again."

Her Lyme Disease also caused "very, very, very millisecond blackouts" that occurred "every minute or every 30 seconds", leaving her unable to safely perform on stage.

In a 2020 interview with Loose Women, Shania revealed that she underwent multiple surgeries to try to fix the nerve damage the bacterial infection had inflicted on her vocal cords. She fortunately recovered and returned to the stage in 2012 with her Las Vegas residency, after nearly a decade-long hiatus from performing.