Shania Twain Reflects on 'Another Chance' After Regaining Her Voice Following Open-Throat Surgery (Exclusive).Linh

The country star, who is hosting the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards, says she “put fear aside” when she struggled with vocal cord issues

Shaina Twain’s open-throat surgery gave her a new outlook on performing.

The singer-songwriter, 59, told PEOPLE in an interview on the red carpet at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards on Thursday, Sept. 26 in Nashville, that her past vocal-cord surgery helped her overcome her stage fright.

“It was really about my throat surgery,” Twain says when asked about her recent experiences with performance anxiety. “I lost my voice, my singing voice, for several years. Regaining that [and] having to go through open-throated surgery to get it back reset my reality.”

She continues, “When you realize that you have another chance at something that you love, you take it and you put fear aside to do it — and that’s what I did.”

Twain says “the voice” and “the desire to never give up” got her through the challenging operation.

The country star, who is hosting the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards, also opened up to PEOPLE about what keeps her motivated after more than 30 years in the industry.

“The creative element of the industry,” she says. “I love new songwriting. I love design and production. There’s so much more that goes into being an artist than just standing on the stage and singing — even though, of course, that’s a very bug part. But I think there’s a lot the fans may not be aware of that goes on, and it’s fun to share.”

She adds, “I definitely wear a lot of hats, and that keeps me motivated.”

For more than seven years, Twain was unable to project vocally and worried she’d never sing again. Eventually doctors diagnosed her with Lyme disease from a 2004 tick bite, which they believe damaged the nerves in her vocal cords. She relearned how to sing, with lengthy warm-ups and physical therapy, and in 2018 Twain underwent open-throat surgery to strengthen the weakened nerves.

“I may not be able to [sing] forever,” she told PEOPLE in 2022, “but right now I’m just enjoying where I am.”

This spring, Jon Bon Jovi revealed to PEOPLE that when he was facing vocal cord issues, he turned to Twain — and ended up undergoing the same procedure she did, under the care of the same surgeon.

“She’s been my spirit sister in this,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “Not only did she reassure me that it would be okay, but I think she also pulled my leg a little bit because she told me I’d be out there a lot sooner than I have been. She says, ‘Well, I told you that because I knew that you might back out otherwise.’ And so, I couldn’t wait to get the operation.”