Vanessa Carlton Biography

Vanessa Lee Carlton is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while attending university. Three months after recording a demo with producer Peter Zizzo, she signed with A&M Records. She began recording her album, which was initially unsuccessful until Ron Fair took over.

Her debut single, "A Thousand Miles", reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2002. Her debut album, Be Not Nobody, followed and received platinum certification in the United States. Her subsequent albums, Harmonium (2004) and Heroes & Thieves (2007), failed to exceed the commercial success of the first. She produced a fourth album, Rabbits on the Run (2011), independently before sourcing for a record label to release it. Since 2011, Carlton has released a holiday EP titled Hear the Bells, in November 2012, and is preparing to release her fifth studio album, Liberman, in 2015.

Carlton was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the first of three children of Edmund "Ed" Carlton, a pilot, and Heidi Lee, a pianist and school music teacher. Her two younger siblings are a sister, Gwen, and a brother, Edmund. Carlton is of half Russian Jewish and half Scandinavian ancestry.

Her interest in music began at an early age. At the age of 2, she visited Disneyland Park and played "It's a Small World" on the piano when she came home. Her mother then began to tutor her. She was introduced to classical music from a young age. By the age of 9, she had become passionate about ballet. In 1994, when Carlton was 14 years old, she enrolled at the School of American Ballet. Upon graduation, she put on vocal performances at nightclubs in the community, beginning to feel more comfortable and dynamic on the stage. Carlton was signed to A&M Records in 2001.

Carlton announced that she had returned to Real World Studios in late 2012 to commence work on a new album related to euphoria. She has since clarified on Twitter that "Euphoria" is not the actual name of the new album, nor is it straightforward electronically fabricated.

In late 2013 on a small tour, Carlton teased new songs "Willow" "House Of Seven Swords" "A Matter Of Time" "Take It Easy" and "Unlock The Lock".

On February 28, 2014, Carlton announced that she has finished recording the new album, which is ten tracks in length and will be titled "Liberman".

On April 11, 2014, Carlton stated that "Liberman" was being mastered.

Carlton's 2014 summer tour will support the Barefoot Wine Beach Project, which encourages people to clean the beach and keep it safe for wildlife. She performed a track to promote the events for Fox New York TV titled "Willows", which she said is about the trees she loved when growing up. She also revealed that her album "Liberman" will be released in 2015.

In an interview with CBS News published on June 11, 2014, Carlton called the album "kind of lush, trippy and beautiful...You really feel like you're falling into a rabbit hole of sounds." About the album, she says: "It's pretty short. It's 10 songs. It's meant to be listened through your headphones."

On June 19, 2010, Carlton came out as bisexual while headlining Nashville Pride. She stated to the attending audience, "I've never said this before, but I am a proud bisexual woman".

On October 9, 2013, at a live performance in Bay Shore, New York, Carlton announced that she was expecting her first child with her then-fiance John McCauley (of the band Deer Tick), and was very early on in her pregnancy. Unfortunately, in November, she announced she had experienced an ectopic pregnancy, in which she later suffered a ruptured tube and internal bleeding. After surgery, her entire right fallopian tube was removed. On December 27, 2013, Carlton and McCauley married in a ceremony officiated by Stevie Nicks.

On June 26, 2014, Carlton announced via Facebook that the release of "Liberman" would be delayed until the summer of 2015 because she is expecting another child with McCauley.

On January 13, 2015, Carlton gave birth to her first child, a daughter.