Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American pop singer and pianist. Her debut CD, Be Not Nobody, was released on April 30, 2002 and included the popular singles "A Thousand Miles" and "Ordinary Day." She also provided backup vocals for the Counting Crows' cover of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi."
Born in Milford, Pennsylvania, Carlton began playing the piano as a toddler. She went to ballet school in New York City beginning at age 12. The stress and rigid training in the ballet lessons proved too much for her, and she chose not to become a ballerina after graduating from the academy. She performed in bars and clubs all over Manhattan before launching her first album at age 21.
Carlton, along with Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne, is often considered to have become popular in 2002 due to the alleged overexposure and insincerity of singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. While Spears and Aguilera are derided by some as oversexualized and lacking in personal creative investment in their music, singers such as Carlton are frequently considered songwriters in their own right who include more genuine sentiment in their lyrics.
Carlton's second album, Harmonium, was released on November 9, 2004. The first single was "White Houses".
Harmonium debuted at number 33 on the Billboard album charts. Many blame the album and packaged single's failure on the lack of promotion from the record label and poor PR representation.
Harmonium was supposed to have been released in the UK on February 7, 2005. Although only two stores stock it, website retailer Amazon now lists it as a June release. Such confusion is a testament to the lack of record label dedication.
As of this writing, Carlton is currently dating Third Eye Blind's lead singer Stephan Jenkins and lives with him in San Francisco, California.
On April 17, 2005, Vanessa Carlton appeared on Punk'd where she was fooled by Ashton Kutcher during a rehersal for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
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