Vanessa Carlton News

In an unlikely pairing between two music stars on the comeback trail, singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton has joined forces with hip-hop entrepreneur Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo for her next album.

Gotti's Universal Motown-backed label the Inc. will release Carlton's "Heroes & Thieves" on October 9. Carlton, best known for the 2002 song "A Thousand Miles" and an accompanying video showing her playing the piano in unlikely places, recorded two albums for A&M Records. She left after her 2004 effort, the dark-themed "Harmonium," flopped.

Gotti, meanwhile, is rebounding from being acquitted of money laundering charges in 2005 following a three-year federal investigation. The Inc's other acts include R&B stars Lloyd and Ashanti.

"I think Irv is a fantastic A&R man, and he really can't contain his excitement," Carlton says. "He has like, no filter, when it comes to expressing himself, and I thought that unbounded energy was so appealing. He's a fantastic music executive. They're hard to find. So, I took the step."

Carlton, 26, says "Heroes & Thieves," which was completely written before she joined the Inc., was produced Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind and includes a few songs she co-wrote with Linda Perry. The first single, "Nolita Fairytale," goes to radio in early July.

"It's a pretty uplifting album with a lot of layers going on in," Carlton says. "(There are) very complex arrangements but everything just makes me feel good and not in a simplistic way. It's the most honest album I ever made, and it's the only record I've made that I really look at as a body of work as opposed to a bunch of songs put together. I think that shows. It really does feel like a real album."

Currently, Carlton is opening a few dates for Stevie Nicks, with a large club or small theater tour planned this fall to coincide with the release of "Heroes & Thieves." Already getting stage time is the upbeat "Nolita Fairytale," the mid-tempo "Spring Street" and the ballad "Home," which Carlton hints could be the second single.

Having experienced the ups and downs of the music industry over the past five years, Carlton feels as though she's finally catching up to her career.

"I feel like I have more of the tools to be in charge of my own career," Carlton says. "I think I'm at that spot. I was there at the last record, but I feel like I have a much more clear vision of who I am and where I want to go. Clarity brings a lot of energy and power. I'm excited about that."

Reuters/Billboard