Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16; 1980) is an American soft rock Piano pop singer; songwriter; and pianist best known for the Billboard top five; Grammy-nominated single A Thousand Miles from her debut album; Be Not Nobody which was released April 30; 2002; and certified platinum in the U.S.Carltons second album; Harmonium (released November 9; 2004); debuted at number thirty-three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and had sold 179;000 copies as of February 2006;with the single White Houses; peaking at eighty-six in the U.S. "White Houses" is a pop song written by American singer Vanessa Carlton and Stephan Jenkins (lead singer of Third Eye Blind), and recorded for Vanessa Carlton's second album Harmonium (2004). Produced by Jenkins, it was released as the album's first single in 2004 (see 2004 in music). Thought not a huge hit for the singer, it has become a cult classic among teenagers.Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16; 1980) is an American soft rock Piano pop singer; songwriter; and pianist best known for the Billboard top five; Grammy-nominated single A Thousand Miles from her debut album; Be Not Nobody which was released April 30; 2002; and certified.