JINGLE BALL ROCKS WITH PLENTY OF BIG NAMES.

Byline: Bill Hetherman Staff Writer

As Snoop Dogg wowed the crowd Friday night at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, a girl about 16 held her hands over her ears and moved her hips to the beat.

The teen was only pretending not to listen. The gangsta rap singer was the top-billed artist and clear favorite among fans during the sold-out KIIS-FM fourth annual Jingle Ball.

Therein lies a profound change.

The concert organizers in the past have appeared to want to keep the Jingle Ball and Wango Tango shows squeaky clean. So, Snoop went against the grain when he used that infamous hyphenated word again and again Friday night.

Repeatedly plugging his new CD, ``213 the Hard Way,'' the Long Beach native was joined by Pharrell for ``Drop It Like It's Hot.'' He also went down memory lane with old favorites like ``Who Am I (What's My Name?)'' and ``Gin and Juice,'' holding a glass of same during the latter.

But in what was perhaps the defining moment of what was arguably the best Jingle Ball ever, Snoop had the pleasure of introducing a very special guest.

No, it wasn't the surprise superstar the promoters promised. In what was the worst-kept secret of the night, hometown girl Gwen Stefani filled that bill.

Nor was it Paris Hilton, who appeared briefly to welcome Maroon5.

The performer was Stevie Wonder, a music legend. When he was escorted to a piano to sing two Christmas songs to close out the night, it was a moment so poignant one couldn't help but recall the passing this year of another giant, Ray Charles.

Unfortunately, Snoop's delayed announcement of Wonder meant much of the building had cleared out by then.

As for Stefani, she was not far from her old home or from Loara High School, where she once was a member of the girls' swimming team.

Band members decked out in the Loara High band uniform joined No Doubt's lead singer on stage for ``Hollaback Girl.'' The song is from the CD ``What You Waiting For?'' - her first as a solo artist.

Ashlee Simpson proved that despite her lip-syncing fiasco during a ``Saturday Night Live'' episode, she is clearly more entertaining than sister Jessica. Her songs are a lot better, too, as she demonstrated with ``Pieces of Me,'' ``La La'' and ``Love Me for Me.''

Alicia Keys, dressed in black with a matching hat, danced through energetic renditions of ``Karma'' and ``You Don't Know My Name.''

Then the talented pianist got behind the keyboard and performed ``If I Ain't Got You.''

Avril Lavigne got her loudest crowd response during ``Sk8er Boi,'' but her best effort was when she stripped down to an acoustic guitar for ``Nobody's Home.''