Shania Twain has started to speak openly about the vocal obstacles she's overcoming, but for the first time, she's naming the cause: Lyme disease.

Twain developed dysphonia, a vocal cord disorder often caused by stress. As recently as February that was what she believed caused her case, but a new article in the Los Angeles Times paraphrases her saying she feels it was caused by contracted Lyme disease.

"A singer’s typical problem is nodules on the vocal cords from overuse or poor technique," Twain tells the newspaper. "That was not my problem. My problem isn’t unique, or rare, but the exercises are very different than for nodules, and I can’t get an operation for mine."

Essentially she needs to stay diligent with vocal exercises and warmups, something she did while on tour in 2015 and 2016. At the time the Rock This Country Tour was going to be her last, but an upcoming performance at Stagecoach is among the things giving fans hope she'll tour again. New music is expected this spring, with a new album now slated for September. It's common for an artist to tour in support of a new project.

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The new single will be released in June and be called "Life's About to Get Good." It's a more positive song that came from a dark period in her life. The singer wrote everything for this new album, and fans can expect a less pop-friendly sound than her three previous albums.

It's been 15 years since Twain released a new album. Her last Top 10 country single was "Party for Two" with Billy Currington in 2004.

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