POP BEAT : A New Queen and Her Court : Faith Evans Charges to the Forefront, With Teen Powerhouse Monica in Tow, in a Scorching Set at the House of Blues

By the middle of “No Other Love,” Faith Evans’ second song Thursday at the House of Blues, a brand-new queen of hip-hop soul had been officially crowned, ascending past Mary J. Blige, for whom Evans used to sing backup.

Some in the hip-hop world have been reluctant to take Evans seriously. Until recently the 22-year-old Newark, N.J., native, like Courtney Love, was known primarily for her tumultuous relationship with her more famous spouse, in this case rap superstar the Notorious B.I.G. Even as her debut album, “Faith,” has stormed up the charts, her music’s been somewhat obscured by widely published rumors having her leaving the B.I.G. man for his former friend and current archrival Tupac Shakur.

But after her scorching, if all-too-brief, five-song set, it was clear that Evans won’t need anyone else’s name to keep hers in the headlines if she can maintain this level of vocal intensity.

Evans capped a two-pronged set that also featured talented youngster Monica, a 15-year-old Dallas Austin discovery who has one of 1995’s biggest-selling singles, “Just One of Dem Days (Don’t Take It Personal).” It was a night of booming live drum kicks provided by sizable live bands, church-inflected vocal pyrotechnics from both parties that, at times, threatened to set the roof on fire, and an interesting juxtaposition of how stage presence and poise, outside of sheer talent, can effect one’s live presentation.

Monica, like her friend and fellow teen singing sensation Brandy, has a voice with a power well beyond her years. At her back was a taut live band and three dancers. Tall and lean, she walked out on stage to the strains of “Get Down,” a dance song from her “Miss Thang” debut. The drums, laid down by the talented Li’l John, thundered harder than even the already thumping album track.

But as she strutted around the stage, waving her hands with attitude and moving her body to the rocking beats, Monica looked as if she were still trying to work out a live presence. Four outfit changes and the gimmicky moves of the background dancers barely masked her lack of stage savvy.

What saved her in the eyes of the crowd, however, is her incredible voice--a deep, powerful, sultry instrument that, despite her quirkiness as a performer, is a joy to hear. She’s still learning how to harness its power, but that will come as she continues to grow.

Evans, however, was a different story. Fully mature, she wore her rock-steady band like a glove and had the capacity audience in a collective swoon.

A towering blond in a white leather jacket, matching miniskirt and snakeskin boots, she appeared angelic in the shining lights. Rather than use herky-jerky movements, she sauntered; rather than costume changes, she used her voice to provide different colors.

Moving her way through the gospel-tinged “Thank You Lord,” the sultry “Ain’t Nobody” and the smoldering “Soon as I Get Home,” she showed a command of her pipes that even Blige can’t claim to have outside of the studio. Running through jazz-inspired riffs with the range and facility of someone twice her age, she left audience members with their mouths wide open.

Where Monica was high power with lack of control, Evans showed pole-position finesse, with the ability to become one with the musical road without ever taking her foot off the gas.

By the middle of Evans’ set, both Monica and Brandy were upfront and center stage, marveling at her performance and absorbing every move and note--two pop princesses, learning the lessons about what it takes to be a queen.

* Faith Evans and Monica appear tonight at Freedman Forum, 201 E. Broadway, Anaheim, 9 p.m. $22.50. (714) 999-5485.