Vanessa Carlton attended New York's Professional Children's School and the School of American Ballet as a teenager, before being named one of Rolling Stone's "Top 10 Artists to Watch in 2002."

As is typically the case, years and years of preparation led to this 'overnight success.'

"Growing up, there was always music in our house," Vanessa recalls. "My mother is a piano teacher, and when she was pregnant with me, she made sure to play certain pieces, including lots of Mozart. When I was two and a half, my parents took me to Disneyland, where I heard 'It's a Small World' for the first time. When we came home, I ran to the piano and picked out the melody, note by note. That's how it all began."

Under her mother's mentoring, Vanessa was exposed to a variety of composers, including Eric Satie, Mendelson and Debussy. She played often, and quickly developed a versatile and surprisingly sophisticated talent, composing her first piece at age eight.

"My mother has been an amazing guiding force in my life," says Carlton. "As opposed to the other teachers, who would hit you on the hand and reprimand you for improvising on a classical piece, she gave me the gift of feeling free at the piano and allowed me to express myself. As a result, learning piano never felt like work, and practice was never a chore. That was invaluable in my development as a musician."

As she entered her teens, she also became interested in dance. "I became obsessed with ballet," she says. "At 14, I was accepted into the School of American Ballet. I left home and moved into the dorm in Lincoln Center. I enrolled in the Professional Children's School and began a new life. But I was surprised at how strict it was. I had attended a Montessori when I was younger, and I wasn't used to such a regimented system. The pressure was intense, and the competition was pretty extreme. The first year and a half was okay, because I was still able to grow as an artist, despite the environment. But after awhile, I couldn't get along with my teachers, and it became a disaster. I went from being the best in my class to skipping class. It became too much for me. I felt completely lost."

Frustrated, she submerged herself in music. "There was a dilapidated piano in the kitchen of the dorm, and I'd go there to play," she recalls. "At that point, I had never written lyrics before, just pieces of music. But all these songs started pouring out of me, and I began writing. I had never thought of myself as a singer or songwriter, but it became really natural and felt so good. In more ways than one, music healed me."

At age 17, Vanessa left her dreams of a ballet career behind, moved to Hell's Kitchen, and took a job as a waitress. One night, she summoned up the courage to debut some of them on the club circuit. "My father is so great," she says. "He would bring me to open mic nights and push me in the door, because I was so afraid. At first, I didn't want people to look at me when I performed, because it felt too violating," she laughs. "But I got over that when I saw that they were moved by my playing."

"I'd love to have people feel the way I do when I sit at the piano and play," she continues. "I can play for hours without realizing how much time has passed. It's always there for me. You get in this zone where you're so in the moment and so in the melody. I also find that playing the piano intensifies whatever emotion I'm feeling right then and there. It's very spiritual."