Fergie's Verizon tour hits Woodbridge Center Mall Pop star discusses being a role model, technology in entertainment BY JESSICA ALFREY Correspondent WOODBRIDGE - Fergie, singer from the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas, made a stop at the Woodbridge Center Mall last Wednesday, performing her solo hits and meeting 500 fans. The tour, designed to promote her debut solo album, "The Dutchess," consists of seven small personalized performances at Verizon stores, and to serve as a precursor to one of her larger shows. By pairing with Verizon Wireless, the tour takes advantage of a lot of upcoming wireless technology, including ways to get free show tickets, texting messages to be posted on a large screen before the performance, and a contest called "Fergie Fashion Meter," where girls text pictures for a chance to model clothing on stage. Fergie said that this kind of fan-entertainer interaction "gives people a chance to get up on the stage for the first time." After she performed "Glamorous," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Fergilicious," 500 lucky fans who wore purple wristbands got to meet Fergie and get an autograph, which Fergie says is one of the advantages of the smaller tour. "I just felt kind of separated from people," said Fergie. "I wanted to get close to people again and really get to know [them], see them up close and shake their hand; people give me comments that I don't normally get to hear, and I love getting feedback." Being a role model was also important for Fergie while she was on tour. In larger venues, Fergie said, "I don't get to meet all the cute little girls. I didn't think about becoming a role model, it wasn't on my agenda, but now I can see all the young girls and they break my heart; it makes me want to be a better person." Getting on board with some of the more recent technology was also a driving force in Fergie's decision to do the tour. "The world is evolving right now with technology, and that's why I wanted to do this tour," Fergie said. "I'm a person who is not afraid to do things first. In fact, I'm comfortable there. I like to be a leader. I do it with my fashion, I do it with my choice of songs, and I think that I [wouldn't] be challenged if I wasn't consistently pushing the envelope for myself. So this is another way of doing that." The crowd ranged from small children perched on the shoulders of those less vertically challenged to their older siblings and, of course, their parents, who had the most important task of all: providing transportation. Security at the event was headed by Capt. Scott Kuzma of the Woodbridge Police Department, who had 20 uniformed officers to control the crowd of about 2,000 to 2,500. The event went smoothly, with Kuzma adding, "We didn't anticipate a problem today." Also present to keep the peace was a private security company, S.O.S. Security, which had approximately 15 to 20 people at the event. Vanessa Riley, who brought her children, Kate, 13, and Anna, 10, said that she approves of their musical tastes and thinks of Fergie as a decent role model. "I listen to a lot of what they listen to. She's good; I've never seen anything negative." Julia Golden, 9, clad in her purple wristband, was happy with the performance and hearing her favorite song, "Big Girls Don't Cry." Why does she like it so much? "Because it makes me sleepy," said Julia. "It calms me down."