Looking as goregous as ever, Shania Twain happily posed alongside some pop star wannabes as she played the role of guest judge for American Idol during Chicago auditions yesterday (August 31).

Slowly but surely, the 44-year-old country singer is making a comeback after taking years off following a string of uber successful albums.

Miss Twain sounded chatty and upbeat in a note posted to her fans over the weekend on her website, as she opened up for the first time since her marriage to Mutt Lange ended more than a year ago. The split came when he took up with her longtime best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud, who also managed the couple’s chateau in Switzerland.

“I’m ‘okay’ - yes, I hit a very big bump in the road, but Eja (her 8-year-old son) and I are doing well. … ” Shania also posted a video of her recent travels, starting with sky diving in Key West. “I feel very much alive and well. … Living, loving, laughing and dreaming have become highest on my list of priorities. … I consider myself on a journey of discovery and recovery,” she says. “I don’t accept to be held down by the past, nor do I expect too much of the future.”

With her on that journey right now is Thiebaud’s ex-husband, Frederic “Fred” Thiebaud, whom Shania calls “a dear friend and true gentleman.”