The on-and-off torrential rain did not deter the 20,000 fans who attended the 24th annual Kiss 108 concert on Saturday, May 31 at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield. The much publicized show raises money to benefit the Genesis fund, an organization which provides services to help children with birth defects. The show's eclectic group of 22 artists ranged from Celtics player Walter McCarty to veteran pop stars TLC. The show began with performances from all-girl band Lillix and the Medford Idol, the radio station's rip-off of American Idol. It didn't seem that either performance was particularly inspiring to the fans as they seemed to show more enthusiasm for the free items given out by sponsors Gilette and Strawberries than the bands.

The show continued with several one-hit radio wonders. Jason Mraz wooed the ladies with his John Mayer-like crooning and Bowling for Soup entertained the crowd with their upbeat punk-pop as they performed their song, "Girl All the Bad Guys Want." Boomkat, headed by actress Taryn Manning ("8 Mile") took the stage next. Boomkat's rock-tinged pop was only mildly entertaining, and the fact that they had not received any radio play prior to the concert did not make it any easier for the fans to at least pretend to sing along.

The highly anticipated Lisa Marie Presley gave a surprisingly mediocre performance. Despite her famed pedigree, she could not muster up enough stage energy to get the audience on their feet. Most of the songs in her set had more of an emphasis on guitar than her pop-orientated radio hit "Lights Out" and were not as well received.

Petite Stacey Orrico proved her singing ability by performing with just an acoustic guitar rather than a full-fledged backup band. She also managed to display her keyboard skills during one of her many ballads.

Equally petite Jennifer Love Hewitt graced the stage next. Best known for her acting in the television show "Party of Five" and in the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer," Hewitt gained crossover status a few years ago with her self-titled debut album. In an interview Hewitt expressed her love for music, but considers acting her first priority. This may be a wise choice as her set was not a standout. Although her performance was not especially impressive, her loyal fans cheered and sang along to her radio hits "Barenaked" and "Can I Go Now."

Jewel followed Hewitt's performance with a new look and a new sound. When asked to describe her agenda for her new album, Jewel explained that she wanted to create a fun record that makes people feel good while at the same time being intelligent pop music. She began her set with some of her classic hits such as "Standing Still" and "Hands," transitioning into songs off her new CD including her latest single, "Intuition." She finished off her performance with a heartfelt rendition of "Who Will Save My Soul."

In between performances, DJ Matt Siegel presented the Genesis Fund with a 50,000 dollar check. Matt entered the stage dressed as Neo from "The Matrix," surrounded by a group of hip-hop dancers. Next, special guest Britney Spears appeared to assist Matt in the presentation of the donation.

After the check was handed over to Genesis employees, MTV's DJ Scribble scratched his turntables as a nice change of pace from the one-hit wonders and wannabe crossovers. He hept the crowd pumped with remixes of KISS FM staple songs by artists such as Avril Lavigne and Christina Aguilera.

KISS DJ David Corey took the stage after Scribble's scratching session. Although he was a talented singer, his love ballads such as his single "Now That I Love You" were of the generic brand. The audience gave him reluctant praise, but had difficulty hiding their impatience while waiting for the more popular acts.

For a basketball player, Walter McCarty was a surprsingly talented musician. His soulful R-and-B style crooning was on par with that of Usher and R.Kelly.

Canadian punk band Simple Plan gave the most notable performance of the afternoon. the band, which claims its influences to be an eclectic mix ranging from The Beach Boys to Green Day, entered the stage to the deafening screams of the crowd, the majority of which happened to be teenage girls. The boys, however, proved to be more than just heartthrobs as they infected the crowd with their abundant energy. Jumping up and down to the lively guitar rhythms, the band encouraged the crowd to sing along and dance to songs such as "Addicted," "I'd Do Anything" and "I'm Just a Kid."

Daniel Benningfield gave another well-recieved performance. His set ran the gamut from upbeat dance tracks such as "Gotta Get Through This" to power ballads like "If You're Not the One." He had the audience dancing around and swaying gently in turn.

After a couple more mediocre acts from Dream and Amanda Perez, Third Eye Blind and Michelle Branch performed. Although not as energetic as Simple Plan, Third Eye Blind had the crowd cheering and singing along to various songs off their old albums including "Jumper," "Semi-Charmed Kind of Life" and "Never Let You Go." They also introduced songs from their new album, including a song called "Crystal Ball." Talented singer-songwriter Michelle Branch lived up to her anticipated performance with soulful renditions of her hits, "Everywhere," "All You Wanted," "The Game of Love" and her newest single, "Are You Happy Now."

In their last Boston appearance, female pop group TLC gave the most anticipated and best performance of the night. Despite the loss of member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez, the group proved they could still hypnotize the crowd with a colorful display of dancing and energetic R&B harmonies. The set consisted of a medley of memorable TLC hits from "Ain't Too Proud" to "Creep" to "Waterfalls," all of which had the audience enthusiastically singing along. In an attempt to fill the musical gap due to the missing group member, the large television screen played past concert footages of Left Eye for each song.

Ashanti and Ja Rule closed the show singing solo numbers and then joined together for an encore of duets. Although they impressed the crowd with their pyrotechnics and stage presence, they could not top the memorable performance of TLC.