Celebrity Mound

Shania Twain carried the Olympic torch the final 400 yards into Hollinger Park, cheered on by thousands of parka-clad fans who turned out in arctic conditions to see the hometown hero in person Friday night.

After making her final turn toward the stage, Twain paused, held the torch aloft in her mittened left hand, and waved to the crowd. The country star then bounded the final few yards onto the stage, where she lit the Olympic cauldron.

“I feel proud, very proud,” Twain said. “It’s a highlight of my life to be able to carry the flame, to light the cauldron.”

At 16 degrees below zero and windy, it was so cold that when a dozen red beach balls were tossed into the crowd, the balls came apart within seconds.

“I know that sounds crazy, but it wouldn’t be Timmins if it wasn’t 40 below with the wind chill factor!” Twain said.

Shania Twain is joining the ranks of “American Idol” guest judges.

A spokesman for the show said Tuesday that the country singer will take part in the Chicago auditions set for the end of August.

Kelly Clarkson, the original “American Idol,” and one of the Jonas Brothers also may end up as guest judges. But they had yet to be confirmed Tuesday.

“American Idol” began enlisting visiting celebrities after a contract dispute led Paula Abdul to announce she was quitting the show. There’s been speculation that Abdul still could reach a deal and return for the ninth season, starting in January.

Shania Twain’s close friend and longtime assistant is finally speaking out – and denying reports she’s behind the singer’s surprise split from her husband of 14 years, PEOPLE reports in its new issue.

Speaking for the first time since the news of the alleged affair became public, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, 37, told PEOPLE, “You cannot believe everything you read in the press.” When asked directly if she had an affair with Twain’s husband, music producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, she replied, “No.”

That contradicts several sources close to the situation, who say Thiébaud and Lange left their spouses for each other and continue to maintain a romantic relationship. Twain, 42, and Lange, 59, who have a 6-year-old son, Eja, announced their separation May 15. Since then, the “You’re Still the One” singer – “devastated” by the revelations, according to sources – has sought refuge with family in her native Canada.

Thiébaud began working for the ultra-private couple after they moved to Switzerland in 2000, acting as their personal assistant, secretary and manager of their vast château. By all accounts, she became one of Twain’s closest confidants. The two attended the 2006 Swiss Red Cross Ball together (PEOPLE’s exclusive first photos of Thiébaud showed the pair at the event, posing together and smiling).

“They celebrated holidays and birthdays together,” says a source. “They were very good friends.”

Lange has also denied that he is dating Thiébaud, telling PEOPLE the split was “just a growing apart.”