Hip-hop chanteuse steals show.

Byline: Craig S. Semon

COLUMN: MUSIC REVIEW

MANSFIELD - It's arguable which was worse Saturday night - the weather or the washout roster at this year's KISS 108 concert at the Tweeter Center.

Both figuratively and literally, Black Eyed Peas blonde bombshell Stacey "Fergie" Ferguson was easily the shining jewel of the concert. Wearing a rhinestone-encrusted tiara, a black sweat-top, a short metallic silver skirt and red velvet cape with fur trim, the self-anointed "Dutchess" had background dancers dressed as Buckingham Palace guards.

The 32-year-old curvy, hip-hop-pop chanteuse delivered a heavier, hip-hop version of her mega-smash, "London Bridge." She also proved she can sing with a rousing crescendo to the otherwise throwaway ballad "Glamorous."

Fergie illustrated the difference between star power and a flash in the pan. Having more sass, brass and sex appeal than all the festival's other acts combined, she kept it fresh on the rousing opener, "Here I Come."

Backed by an entourage of hip-hop break dancers, Fergie acknowledged her Black Eyed Peas legacy with a series of songs, including the silly (but crowd-pleasing) bump and grind, "My Humps," as well as an energetic BEP medley including "Don't Phunk with My Heart" and "Where is the Love?"

The festival's best number came with Fergie's cover of Heart's "Barracuda." Singing at times on her knees, Fergie showed off her strong rock `n' roll voice and even stronger stage presence.

American Idol finalist (and Edward Kowalczyk-wannabe) Chris Daughtry delivered plenty of meat-and-potato rockers with a little too much fat and a little too much starch for their own good.

With his rock opuses falling somewhere between the Live and Fuel school of arena rock, Daughtry seemed to be running on fumes. In his defense, he was a last performance on a cold, wet and miserable day made up of mostly miserable and forgettable performances.

Embarking on a darkened, smoke-drenched stage and crying through a bullhorn like a low-rent Scott Weiland, Daughtry opened with the combustible rocker "Crashed," the first of eight tracks performed from his chart-topping, self-titled debut.

Wearing a doorag, black T-shirt, jeans, scruffy beard and more eyeliner than any of the women on the roster, the North Carolina native has rock posturing and bombast down pat. During his rocking set, he delivered the kind of gut-wrenching croons and primal screams that should have been enough to kick Taylor Hicks out of the competition and make Daughtry last year's American Idol winner.

By contrast, 19-year-old Disney darling and bubblegum diva Hilary Duff seemed like a doe caught in the spotlight.

Wearing a white top and knee-high boots, the petit pop tart's chirpy voice was lost in a mix during the openers, "Play with Fire" and "Stranger," which raised a question as to whether she was lip-syncing.

It was a moot point, because live or canned, Duff's

is still a limited, school-girlish voice at best.

Lacking stage presence and sex appeal, Duff has totally moved into the teenybopper bubblegum niche left vacant after Britney Spears' meltdown. But by the time Duff sang "Never Stop," the sixth number in her eight-song set, anyone over 12 must have been thinking to themselves, "Please, please, stop."

Unbilled guest Akon worked the crowd into a frenzy with sweaty T-shirt shenanigans, so-so singing and sophomoric stage antics.

The 34-year-old Akon - caught simulating sex with a 14-year-old onstage during an April 12 concert in Trinidad - had the crowd eating out of his hand with numbers including "Shakedown," "Soul Survivor" and "I Wanna (expletive) You," during which the squealing teenybopper crowd was more than happy to fill in the blank.

Instead of giving the crowd "mcPheever," last year's American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee left the crowd "mcFuddled." The Los Angeles native clumsily meandered through a series of cuts from her self-titled debut (including the not-so-lovely "Love Story" and the not-so-dangerous "Dangerous"), as well as a misguided Alanis Morissette cover.

While Dashboard Confessional and Gym Class Heroes gave solid enough sets in the early part of the day, it was West Indies-native Rihanna who left a lasting impression that carried over to the wee hours of the KISS concert.

Rihanna enticed the crowd with her tantalizing moves and persuasive pipes as she delivered choice numbers, "Pon de Replay," "S.O.S (Rescue Me)" and her new single, "Shut Up and Drive."

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: The Black Eyed Peas' Fergie stole the show from a pack of other performers at Saturday's KISS 108 concert, held at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield.

PHOTOG: MARC ANDREW DELEY