Girl power is proving to have an incredibly long shelf life. That was made clear at Thursday's Cheetah Girls show at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

The pop music concept of empowering young females was popularized in the early '80s, when Cyndi Lauper had a monster hit with the feel-good anthem "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." The song might be older than the Cheetahs' members, but that didn't stop them from wheeling out an updated cover toward the close of their set, in a triumphant moment in which the trio was joined onstage by opening act Everlife.

In the '90s, the Spice Girls famously rode the "girl power" concept to international success. While Lauper and the Spice Girls were omnipresent in their respective eras, the Cheetahs were an underground sensation of sorts -- known mostly by children and their parents -- until August, when its "The Cheetah Girls 2" soundtrack debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. That's because the Cheetahs are of an era in which niche marketing is king, and the Walt Disney Co. is the king of the niche marketers. The touring group was spawned from Disney Channel's made-for-TV-movies, which were inspired by Deborah Gregory's hit book series. The group's subsequent soundtrack releases have garnered airplay on Radio Disney but are paid little mind outside of the Disney world.

While on the small screen the Cheetahs are led by former Cosby kid Raven-Symone, she's not part of the touring group that consists of Sabrina Bryan, Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon. The trio offers wholesome, upbeat pop in which the girl-power concept is updated to "growl power." Their sound is a throwback to the '90s girl-group pop of the Spice Girls and En Vogue but stripped of anything too risque as to not offend the parents of its young fans. While the tunes were catchy, cleverly choreographed dance numbers, the Cheetahs relied so heavily on backing tracks that it was hard to determine if the headset microphones they wore were anything more than fashion accessories.

Openers Everlife, a trio of singing and guitar-playing sisters backed by a male drummer, came of like the Donnas' polite little sisters. In their short set, they served up versions of the Romantics' "What I Like About You" and "Real Wild Child," the '50s rockabilly hit covered by Iggy Pop.

Miley Cyrus, daughter of "Achy Breaky Heart" star Billy Ray, appears to be well on her way to following Hillary Duff's path from Disney TV sensation to pop star, with a set that showed off her charm and lightweight dance-pop fare to the delight of the young screaming fans. While the energy level subsided as the evening wore on, it wasn't too surprising. After all, it was a school night, and the Cheetahs' set lasted past many of the audience members' bedtimes. (Craig Rosen)