makes its point loud and clear Views and reviews from Star Party Concert review: Osmo's in love with Jean (Sibelius, that is) Gwen Stefani is all about blonde ambition. In concert Tuesday at the Xcel Energy Center, the pop star channeled Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Michelle Pfeiffer (in "Scarface"), rapper Eve and, quite unintentionally, the blonde of the moment. Stefani's opening number, "The Sweet Escape," was a takeoff on Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock.

" But with the singer, clad in a black-and-white-striped couture prison outfit escaping from behind bars, it was impossible not to think of Paris Hilton. Of course, the O.C.

girl with the platinum ponytail didn't realize the irony of the situation. There is no irony in Stefani's artifice. Her music is all about froth, which seemed to please the mostly female crowd of 11,692 at the Xcel.

But when she added some funk to the froth, it upped the fun quotient. That's why "Hollaback Girl" was the highlight of the 95-minute show. "Where my Minn-eh-sooo-tah girls at?

" she asked, like a typical Minnesota blonde. (She'd mentioned earlier that her sister married a Minnesota guy.) Then she seamlessly glided into a funky rap with a Brooklyn accent that suggested Eve.

Finally, for the first time all night, Stefani was performing with some conviction and attitude. Even the simple schoolyard "banana" chant at the end of "Hollaback" turned into a memorable moment. Not only was Stefani, 37, all about channeling her icons, she also explored iconic images of young women with the many costumes she and her four female dancers wore: Geisha girls, cheerleaders, schoolgirls, track stars, chorus girls, bakers, etc.

Musically, the multi-culti Orange County star presented a pastiche of pop: Show tunes, hip-hop, pop, rock, R B, folk and ska. But she didn't demonstrate the vocal firepower to measure up to Christina Aguilera, another similarly ambitious blonde who put on an eye-candy spectacle at Xcel earlier this year. While Aguilera was a vocal powerhouse, Stefani was a vocal lightweight.

The shortcomings of her thin and reedy voice were even more apparent when she let backup singer/bassist Gail Ann Dorsey take over on the Stevie Nicks-like "Early Winter" and the acoustic "Real Thing." Dorsey unleashed a strong, soulful wail. But the crowd came to see a pop star.

And Stefani gave them what they wanted: great hair, great outfits, great images, great drama, a great body and some beats they could dance to. Indeed, she's one blonde who knows how to have more fun. Opening the concert were Lady Sovereign, the British rap star who had the right mix of urgency and humor, and controversial singer-rapper Akon, who sang his sex-crazed hits with PG-13 verve and didn't cause any trouble with fans onstage as he had at concerts in Poughkeepsie, N.

Y. Jon Bream 612-673-1719 For a set list, go to www.startribune.

com/poplife.