Another week, and still no clear winner(s) in the continuing quest to reboot the American Idol judging panel. Scuttlebutt yesterday was that Jennifer Lopez had become a demanding diva (is there any other kind?), and so the show’s producers had Shania Twain as their back-up plan.

Like Lopez, Twain’s music career has cooled off in recent years, though unlike Lopez, Twain’s change is a matter of choice (brought on by a change of heart). She hasn’t released anything new since 2005’s “Shoes,” which appeared on the Desperate Housewives soundtrack. In 2008, Twain split from her husband and musical partner of 14 years, producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, with whom she wrote most of her biggest hits and enjoyed multi-platinum crossover success.

If J-Lo is indeed out (some say not so fast), and Twain is Idol‘s new “It” girl, we do have a sense of what kind of a judge she’d be. Last season, she joined Simon, Randy, and Kara for the Chicago call-backs, impressing me much. Shania knew her stuff and showed she could be honest while also having a heart. There were moments of levity too, like when a deliriously giddy Twain nervously twirled her neck jewelry during Casey’s audition. Later returning as mentor during Country week, she shepherded contestants through her songbook (some nice quid pro quo at work). So the Idol grind is not entirely unfamiliar to Twain, and really, the show could do much, much worse (please, Jeebus, no Jessica Simpson).

Besides catchy songs, the telegenic Twain’s rocket to superstardom was no doubt boosted by the music videos she made to match. One of my favorites is for “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!,” the seventh single from 1997’s Come On Over. The song, which reached #4 on Billboard’s Country chart on June 12, 1999, and peaked at #23 on the Hot 100 that November, is great fun (especially those Ronnie Spector-ish “Oh-oh-ohs” in the chorus), but it’s the video that’s worth repeating, an inspired gender flip on the classic clip for Robert Palmer’s 1986 hit, “Addicted To Love”:

Twain already has some television in her future, having signed on to Oprah’s OWN network to star in Why Not? With Shania Twain. The hour-long series is billed as “her climb back to the top, a personal journey filled with risk, revelations and unexpected adventures.” Sounds a lot like American Idol, really.

Purchase Shania Twain – “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.