According to Jewel, the lighting in her hotel room was so dim she didn't notice that she was slipping into a see-through gown that would serve to shock even the most world-weary members of the audience at the Grammy Awards. I sympathize completely. It's damn hard sometimes to work the light switch in these crazy hotels.

I have a suggestion for Jewel: Drop the line. No one believes it. Instead, why not respond to any future inquiries about the dress with, “If you looked like me, you'd be wearing a few see-through gowns yourself.”

Here's the point: Jewel has stated on several occasions that it's entirely possible to be spiritual and sexual at the same time. Fair enough. After all, we humans are complex creatures. Why not accept that Jewel is a substantial and sensitive person, even if she does take to cellophane dresses.

On the other hand, why should she defend herself at all? Jewel looked great in the gown, no doubt, and chances are that I'll be tuning into the Grammys next year to see if she makes an encore appearance.

Jewel at the Grammys

Of course, all this attention on the woman's bumps and curves does tend to distract one's attention from her abilities as an artist. “I think it's been easier for men to be taken seriously as intellectuals and be good looking at the same time,” says Jewel. Here, I'd have to agree. Rock stars from Jim Morrison to modern day artists, such as Jakob Dylan, have been able to capitalize on their sexual, as well as intellectual, prowess. Female artists, on the other hand, have not fared so well. For someone like Jewel, this is unfortunate since the human being beneath her somewhat tantalizing exterior is intelligent, unspoiled and earthy, quirky in voice and personality, and blessed with talent from her toes to her head-full of farm-girl hair. Should you doubt this, 5 million copies, sold so far, of her debut album, Pieces of You, say I'm not alone in my opinion.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...
It's at this point in an article that a writer often gets into the obligatory history of the artist, so along these lines I give you this: Jewel Kilcher spent the last 10 years traveling across the country in a Volkswagon van, singing in various coffee shops and living without heat, hot water or cable TV. (In other words, she didn't know a Pentium Pro from a microwave oven.) Before that, she lived in an igloo in Homer, Alaska, surviving on ice cubes and whale blubber.

Now, this may not be 100-percent accurate (okay, it wasn't actually an igloo, it was a log cabin) and, yes, I know I left out a few details (adoption by Ottawa Indians, brief romance with Sean Penn, etc.) but you get the picture. At 23, Jewel has paid her dues along with the best of them, from her humble beginnings to her life on the open road washing her hair in the restrooms of various fast food houses and department stores.

Fast forward to the present and we find Jewel experiencing a profound reversal of fortune. Following two back-to-back hits (“Who Will Save Your Soul” and “You Were Meant for Me”), she is riding the crest of an extraordinary wave of success. Does this mean the public will start paying attention to her intellect and talent instead of her looks?

You must be kidding ...

I have a piece of advice for Jewel, for what it's worth. Should anybody discredit you for possessing God's gift of beauty, at any point in the future, why not respond with these simple words: “Eat your heart out, baby.” In other words, don't toss the cellophane dress just because a few people out there are a little jealous -- especially when it looked so damn good on you. And as far as people taking you seriously, me thinks you have quite a few out there right now that are doing just that -- at least five million, anyway, by my last count.