Whatever Happened to Vanessa Carlton?
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VOICE OVER: Elise Doucet
WRITTEN BY: William Regot
Whatever happened to Vanessa Carlton? You probably already know every word to her 2002 hit “A Thousand Miles,” but Vanessa Carlton seems to have disappeared from the spotlight. For this video, we're taking you through the career of singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton and following the events in her life that took place after her big hit. From to her split with A&M Records, to her upcoming Broadway show “Beautiful” and her new album in the works, join MsMojo as we discuss Whatever Happened To Vanessa Carlton?
Whatever Happened To Vanessa Carlton?
Best known for 2002’s “A Thousand Miles,” Vanessa Carlton seems to have disappeared from the spotlight. Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we’re looking at Whatever Happened to Vanessa Carlton? For this video, we’re following the career of singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton and events in her life that took place after her big hit.
Born in 1980, Vanessa Carlton grew up in Milford, Pennsylvania as the oldest of three. Her mother was a school teacher and pianist, and that’s where Carlton originally took interest in playing the piano. When she was a teenager, she attended the School of American Ballet in New York City where she felt isolated until she found a piano there. She attended Columbia University, studying music and dance before ultimately dropping out. During this time, she waited tables and played open mic nights, until she signed with A&M Records in 2001.
If you know any song from Vanessa Carlton, it’s “A Thousand Miles.” The music video memorably shows Carlton sitting on a moving piano, traveling some distance while the singer laments about being separated from the one she loves. Carlton originally wanted to call the track, “Interlude,” but producers balked at the idea, thinking the title wasn’t commercial, and, more importantly, that it had nothing to do with the tune’s content. Released in 2002, “A Thousand Miles” peaked at number five at the US Billboard charts. It also received three nominations at the 45th Grammy Awards, including “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year.” And who can forget that scene in the 2004 movie “White Chicks” when Terry Crews’ character enthusiastically sings along to it as it plays in the car. Though Carlton had a specific guy in mind when she wrote “A Thousand Miles,” she never disclosed who the subject was.
Carlton’s first album, “Be Not Nobody,” which contained “A Thousand Miles,” came out in April 2002 and is her most successful album to date, peaking at number 5 in the US. Another track from the album, “Ordinary Day,” reached number 30 on the US Hot 100. Then there’s the music video for the album’s third single, “Pretty Baby,” which has a dark ending where the boy who’s the object Carlton’s affection is revealed to be tied up in her house, bound with duct tape. Following the success of “Be Not Nobody,” things looked promising for Carlton. She collaborated with Counting Crows for their cover of the Joni Mitchell classic “Big Yellow Taxi.” She also made a guest appearance on the short lived TV show “American Dreams.”
However, Carlton’s 2004 sophomore album, “Harmonium,” wasn’t able to capture the success of her first album. With “White Houses”, the record’s only single, Carlton tried something different from the pop friendly tunes she’d previously done. The song is about the period in people’s lives where they’re experiencing milestones. Because a part of the song describes a woman losing her virginity in a sexually explicit way, “White Houses” was censored by MTV and radio stations, and the song only made it to 86 on the US charts.
The 2000s was a difficult time for Carlton, as she was trying to figure out what kind of artist she wanted to be. She has admitted to “smoking a lot of pot” and “giving sh**ty interviews” where she phoned it in. There were a couple of years where she wasn’t on speaking terms with her mother. She also admitted to abusing alcohol, cocaine, and pills. Carlton has said in interviews that, in retrospect, she wished she could have started her music career when she was a little bit older and wiser.
After Carlton’s split from A&M Records in 2005, she has focused on taking more creative control in her work. With subsequent albums, Carlton has continued to tackle more ambitious themes and grow as an artist. At the beginning of the music video for “Nolita Fairytale,” the moving piano from “A Thousand Miles,” is smashed to pieces after it’s hit by a taxicab, symbolizing how Carlton wants to move on from her biggest song. With later albums, Carlton took inspiration from interesting places. For 2011’s “Rabbits on the Run,” it was Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” and the novel “Watership Down.” For 2015’s “Liberman,” a source of inspiration was an oil painting created by her Jewish grandfather, for whom the album is named after.
In May 2019, Carlton announced that she is going to be in the Broadway show “Beautiful,” a musical about the life of Carole King that won two Tonys in 2014, including Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Her 10-week run, which started in June 2019, will be Carlton’s first time performing on Broadway. Carlton considers it an honor to take on the role of an artist she has idolized.
Meanwhile, in 2010, Carlton came out as a “proud bisexual woman” at Nashville Pride, a proLGBT event she was headlining that year. Cartlon hadn’t planned on coming out during pride parade, but was encouraged to do so after the look of pain in some fans in the crowd resonated with her. Coming out, she felt, gave her a special connection with her audience, particularly those struggling with their own identities.
In 2013, she married John McCauley, singer/songwriter of the indie rock band Deer Tick. Officiating the ceremony was Stevie Nicks, who is a close friend of Carlton’s. Carlton lives with her husband, and a daughter, in Nashville. Alongside her family life, Carlton is still writing songs. Her sixth album is expected to come out in 2019. She’s made peace with her past, and is more sure about where she is.
Best known for 2002’s “A Thousand Miles,” Vanessa Carlton seems to have disappeared from the spotlight. Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we’re looking at Whatever Happened to Vanessa Carlton? For this video, we’re following the career of singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton and events in her life that took place after her big hit.
Born in 1980, Vanessa Carlton grew up in Milford, Pennsylvania as the oldest of three. Her mother was a school teacher and pianist, and that’s where Carlton originally took interest in playing the piano. When she was a teenager, she attended the School of American Ballet in New York City where she felt isolated until she found a piano there. She attended Columbia University, studying music and dance before ultimately dropping out. During this time, she waited tables and played open mic nights, until she signed with A&M Records in 2001.
If you know any song from Vanessa Carlton, it’s “A Thousand Miles.” The music video memorably shows Carlton sitting on a moving piano, traveling some distance while the singer laments about being separated from the one she loves. Carlton originally wanted to call the track, “Interlude,” but producers balked at the idea, thinking the title wasn’t commercial, and, more importantly, that it had nothing to do with the tune’s content. Released in 2002, “A Thousand Miles” peaked at number five at the US Billboard charts. It also received three nominations at the 45th Grammy Awards, including “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year.” And who can forget that scene in the 2004 movie “White Chicks” when Terry Crews’ character enthusiastically sings along to it as it plays in the car. Though Carlton had a specific guy in mind when she wrote “A Thousand Miles,” she never disclosed who the subject was.
Carlton’s first album, “Be Not Nobody,” which contained “A Thousand Miles,” came out in April 2002 and is her most successful album to date, peaking at number 5 in the US. Another track from the album, “Ordinary Day,” reached number 30 on the US Hot 100. Then there’s the music video for the album’s third single, “Pretty Baby,” which has a dark ending where the boy who’s the object Carlton’s affection is revealed to be tied up in her house, bound with duct tape. Following the success of “Be Not Nobody,” things looked promising for Carlton. She collaborated with Counting Crows for their cover of the Joni Mitchell classic “Big Yellow Taxi.” She also made a guest appearance on the short lived TV show “American Dreams.”
However, Carlton’s 2004 sophomore album, “Harmonium,” wasn’t able to capture the success of her first album. With “White Houses”, the record’s only single, Carlton tried something different from the pop friendly tunes she’d previously done. The song is about the period in people’s lives where they’re experiencing milestones. Because a part of the song describes a woman losing her virginity in a sexually explicit way, “White Houses” was censored by MTV and radio stations, and the song only made it to 86 on the US charts.
The 2000s was a difficult time for Carlton, as she was trying to figure out what kind of artist she wanted to be. She has admitted to “smoking a lot of pot” and “giving sh**ty interviews” where she phoned it in. There were a couple of years where she wasn’t on speaking terms with her mother. She also admitted to abusing alcohol, cocaine, and pills. Carlton has said in interviews that, in retrospect, she wished she could have started her music career when she was a little bit older and wiser.
After Carlton’s split from A&M Records in 2005, she has focused on taking more creative control in her work. With subsequent albums, Carlton has continued to tackle more ambitious themes and grow as an artist. At the beginning of the music video for “Nolita Fairytale,” the moving piano from “A Thousand Miles,” is smashed to pieces after it’s hit by a taxicab, symbolizing how Carlton wants to move on from her biggest song. With later albums, Carlton took inspiration from interesting places. For 2011’s “Rabbits on the Run,” it was Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” and the novel “Watership Down.” For 2015’s “Liberman,” a source of inspiration was an oil painting created by her Jewish grandfather, for whom the album is named after.
In May 2019, Carlton announced that she is going to be in the Broadway show “Beautiful,” a musical about the life of Carole King that won two Tonys in 2014, including Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Her 10-week run, which started in June 2019, will be Carlton’s first time performing on Broadway. Carlton considers it an honor to take on the role of an artist she has idolized.
Meanwhile, in 2010, Carlton came out as a “proud bisexual woman” at Nashville Pride, a proLGBT event she was headlining that year. Cartlon hadn’t planned on coming out during pride parade, but was encouraged to do so after the look of pain in some fans in the crowd resonated with her. Coming out, she felt, gave her a special connection with her audience, particularly those struggling with their own identities.
In 2013, she married John McCauley, singer/songwriter of the indie rock band Deer Tick. Officiating the ceremony was Stevie Nicks, who is a close friend of Carlton’s. Carlton lives with her husband, and a daughter, in Nashville. Alongside her family life, Carlton is still writing songs. Her sixth album is expected to come out in 2019. She’s made peace with her past, and is more sure about where she is.
