The question, then, is where is her support in India?

While the music of a few mega-stars makes it from the US to Indian shores, the best and most original artists often suffer from lack of promotion here in the sub-continent.

Luckily, the July 7 Live Earth event will be broadcast by VH1 across the country, giving dozens of talented musicians their first exposure in India.

But with 150 artists to choose from, how can you pare down the list and hear some truly great live performances?

Let's take a look:

Alicia has won innumerable awards during the course of her seven year career, including nine Grammys.

She combines 1970s soul music with today's hip-hop and R&B, a sort of Marvin Gaye meets Erykah Badu. Her impoverished childhood and biracial composition give her music a unique perspective.

Her debut album, Songs in A Minor, released in 2001 to great fanfare. It sold 235,000 copies in its first week; to date, over 11,000,000 copies have sold worldwide. The hit single, Fallin, propelled her to instant celebrity status; the song took home three Grammys in 2002.

In 2003, her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was received with even greater acclaim by both critics and fans alike. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200, selling over 600,000 copies in its first week. To date, it has sold over 8,000,000 copies worldwide.

She is renowned for her incredible voice; her tracks require little mixing and mastering. This talent translates to amazing success on-stage. She has performed at numerous award shows, including the 2005 Grammys.

2005 also saw the release of Unplugged, a recording of her performance on MTV's Unplugged. The album has over 1,500,000 sales, making it the highest selling of the Unplugged installments since Nirvana's 1994 edition.

Must have album: The Diary of Alicia Keys
Greatest songs: Fallin', If I Ain't Got You, Unbreakable

Text: Matthew Schneeberger Image: Alicia Keys at an engagement in New York City in April. Photograph: Scott Gries/Getty Images

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