"Early Show" Summer Concert Series Line-Up

All summer long, "The Early Summer Concert Series" will feature some of the biggest names in music on our plaza.

Here's a look at the performers you won't want to miss.

For tickets, go to 1iota.com and click on "The Early Show" logo. Please note that ticket listings will be posted two to three weeks before the concert date.

"The Early Summer Concert Series" line-up:

Performances:

The Backstreet Boys: May 24
The Backstreet Boys (now four members: Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean) released their seventh studio album, "This Is Us" last year. It isn't their first album since being at the top of the boy-band "A-list," but it does mark the bands return to its old R&B, pop, and dance songs. They've sold over 76 million records worldwide making them the highest-selling boy band on record. They have four platinum and two diamond albums. The first hits to make them popular in 1997 were "Get Down," Quit Playing Games With My Heart" and "As Long As You Love Me.

Jewel: May 25
Jewel is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, actress, poet, painter, philanthropist and daughter to an Alaskan cowboy singer-songwriter. Her debut album "Pieces of You" debuted in 1995 going platinum 12 times -- one of the best selling debut albums of all time. She is a three-time Grammy nominee. She has sold 27 million albums worldwide and almost 20 million in the United States alone. Her new single, "Stay Here Forever" is her first country single in over a year which landed a spot on the soundtrack of the hit movie Valentine's Day. Her new album, "Sweet and Wild" is in stores on June 8. The album features 11 songs and all but one was written by Jewel. She is celebrating her 15-year anniversary since "Pieces of You," her debut album, was released.

Christina Aguilera: June 9
We first heard this former "mouseketeer" in 1998 with her first hit, "Genie in a Bottle." Now, Christina Aguilera is back with "Bionic," due June 8. Her album, "Stripped," has sold more than 4.2 million copies, while Aguilera's 1999 self-titled debut has sold nearly 8.2 million. "Keeps Gettin' Better," a 2008 greatest-hits set originally available exclusively at Target, is at 351,000. It has been four years since we last heard from Christina.
She married Jordan Bratman nearly five years ago and gave birth to the couple's first son, Max, in 2008.

Alicia Keys: July 2
Twelve-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys is enjoying the success of her latest album, "The Element Of Freedom." The New York City born singer, songwriter and producer is one of music's biggest stars with sales of over 30 million albums worldwide. Alicia is a multi-platinum artist with four acclaimed albums to her credit: Songs in A Minor (2001); The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003); Unplugged (2005) and As I Am (2007). The Element of Freedom is Alicia's fifth studio album. She's best known for her hit singles, "No One, Fallin'" and "If I Ain't Got You."

Also an acclaimed actress, Alicia has appeared in starring roles in "The Secret Life Of Bees," "The Nanny Diaries" and "Smokin' Aces." Keys is the co-founder and global ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

Sting: July 16
Superstar Sting started his career in the British band The Police, which disbanded in 1984 at the height of its popularity. Sting went solo soon after. His career has been marked with numerous accolades, including several Grammys and three Academy Award nominations for movie themes. Sting will perform with the Royal Philaharmonic Concert Orchestra and a quartet consisting of Dominic Miller, David Cossin, Jo Lawry and Ira Coleman in 2010. The tour will see him performing his most celebrated songs re-imagined for symphonic arrangement, conducted by Steven Mercurio (Pavarotti, Bocelli). The tour plays across North America in June and July arriving in Europe in September.

Enrique Iglesias: July 23
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop singer-songwriter. He exploded onto the American pop scene in 1997 with his album "Vivir," his first album to put him with other English language musical stars that year. In 1999, Iglesias made his mark on the music scene along with many other Latino crossover singers. Iglesias's musical contribution to the hit Will Smith action movie "Wild Wild West" made his song "Bailamos" a number one hit in the U.S. After signing a multi-million dollar record deal with Interscope Records, Iglesias released his first ever all English album, self titled "Enrique."

Since then, Iglesias has collaborated with other hit artists such as Christina Aguilera and has sold out shows in over sixteen countries including New York's Radio City Music Hall and London's Royal Albert Hall. His latest album "Euphoria" is set to be released July 6 this summer.

Cyndi Lauper: July 30
Cyndi Lauper is an American singer-songwriter and actress who hit her stride in the 80's. Her became the first female singer to have four Top 5 singles from a single album with the release of her album "She's So Unusual." To this date, Lauper has released eleven albums and over forty hit singles, selling more than 25 million records worldwide.

Lauper is best known for her iconic singles, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," and "Time After Time." The music video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" made Lauper a staple on MTV.

Lauper moved from the small screen to the big screen in 1988 in her movie debut with "Vibes," a quirky comedy. Recently Lauper reappeared on television on the hit reality show "Celebrity Apprentice," alongside stars like Sharon Osbourne and Bret Michaels, donating her winnings to her own True Colors Fund.

Train: August 13
According to Train's website, over the course of 15 years, Train has made its mark on music history with their Grammy-Award-winning song "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" and chart-topping singles "Meet Virginia" and "Calling All Angels." Since forming in San Francisco in 1994, the multi-platinum selling band has traveled a long, successful and sometimes arduous journey. Following their 2006 release, For Me, It's You, the band took a three-year hiatus, and in that time, Train has, for all intents and purposes, experienced an epiphany as a whole. Now, with their fifth album, Save Me San Francisco, Train has channeled their early days, revisiting the roots rock sound that has made the band such a tour de force - and, in turn, the band is united stronger than ever before.

David Gray: Aug. 20
You know David Gray best for his hit songs "Babylon," "This Year's Love," and "Please Forgive Me" off his album "White Ladder," which took off shortly after its U.S. release in the summer of 2000. The album was so hot, by the end of the year, the success of Gray's hit single, "Babylon," had pushed sales of "White Ladder" over the one-million mark in the U.S. But Gray was hardly an overnight sensation. A British native, he enjoyed a successful career in the U.K. music scene for some time. He released his first album in 1993, and finally became a name known around the world seven years later. He's spending the summer doing perhaps what he loves most: touring. And he's stopping by our plaza as part of our summer concert series.

Sheryl Crow: Aug. 26
According to AOL Music.com, "Sheryl Crow's fresh, updated spin on classic roots rock made her one of the most popular mainstream rockers of the '90s. Her albums were loose and eclectic on the surface, yet were generally tied together by polished, professional songcraft. Crow's sunny, good-time rockers and world-weary ballads were radio staples for much of the '90s, and she was a perennial favorite at Grammy time. Although her songwriting style was firmly anchored to the rock tradition, she wasn't a slave to it -- her free-associative, reference-laden poetry could hardly have been the product of any era but the '90s. Her production not only kept pace with contemporary trends, but sometimes even pushed the envelope of what sounds could be heard on a classicist rock album, especially on her self-titled sophomore effort. All of this made Crow one of the most dependable stars of the decade, and she showed no signs of relinquishing her hard-won success in the new millennium."

Usher: Sept. 3
According to Usher's website, Usher's considerable achievements begin with over 45 million records sold worldwide and five Grammy awards. The singer, composer, producer, actor, businessman, designer and philanthropist is the quintessential contemporary icon, celebrated for nearly two decades.