Introduction
Released in December 1998 as a single from Shania Twain’s blockbuster album Come On Over, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” was co‑written by Twain and her then‑husband and producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album itself debuted in November 1997 and became one of the most successful country‑pop crossovers ever, selling over 36 million copies by 2000 and cementing Twain’s global fame .
Written and recorded in 1997 and released to country radio in late 1998, it became her sixth country single and seventh overall from the album . The track peaked at #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, hit Top‑10 across 15 countries—including #1 in Belgium, Ireland, Norway, and New Zealand—and charted broadly on adult contemporary and pop radio stations .
Lyrically, the song is a playful takedown of showy suitors—rocket scientists, Brad Pitts, and Elvis‑like figures—emphasizing that intelligence, celebrity, or looks alone can’t win affection if there’s no real connection or warmth (“Have you got the touch?”) . Twain later revealed that the Brad Pitt reference stemmed from her dismissive reaction to a mid‑1990s scandal involving nude photos of Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow—a topical celebrity moment, chosen symbolically and not meant as a personal attack.
The music video, filmed November 3–4, 1998, in the Mojave Desert—at El Mirage Dry Lake and near Barstow, California—features Twain in a hooded leopard‑print outfit hitchhiking across the desert amid a parade of suitors in vehicles ranging from a 1957 Chevy Bel Air to a horseman, an army jeep, and a tanker truck . Two versions—one aligned with the album version and another with a pop/dance remix—were released to match the song’s contrasting radio formats .
This standout track balances tongue‑in‑cheek humor, feminist sass, and irresistibly catchy hooks—one of the defining moments of Twain’s career and an anthem of empowered selectivity in romance.
Video
Lyrics
Ow
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah
I’ve known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart
But you’ve got being right down to an art
You think you’re a genius, you drive me up the wall
You’re a regular original, a know-it-all
Oh-oh, you think you’re special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re a rocket scientist
That don’t impress me much (oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the brains, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah
I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket
And a comb up his sleeve, just in case
And all that extra hold gel in your hair oughta lock it
‘Cause Heaven forbid it should fall outta place
Oh-oh, you think you’re special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt
That don’t impress me much (oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the looks, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
Ow, and yeah
Woo
You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine
You make me take off my shoes before you let me get in
I can’t believe you kiss your car good night
Now come on, baby, tell me, you must be jokin’, right?
Oh-oh, you think you’re something special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you got a car
That don’t impress me much (oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the moves, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much (that don’t impress me)
Oh, oh no, you think you’re cool, but have you got the touch?
Now, now, don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm on the long, cold, lonely nights
That don’t impress me much
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah
Okay, so what do you think, you’re Elvis or something?
That don’t impress me much
Oh no
That don’t impress me much
Oh no
Ow, and yeah