Vanessa Denae Olivarez (born April 7, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the vocalist, songwriter, and autoharpist for the country bands Granville Automatic and Mama's Blue Dress, has written songs for the country duo Sugarland, and was in the Top 12 of the second season of the television series American Idol in 2003. When she reached the top judges she switched to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". They compared her to singer and actress Bette Midler. Soon after she was eliminated from American Idol, she lent her celebrity status to support animals' rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She posed naked for their "I would rather go naked than wear fur" campaign. The ad was first unveiled in Herald Square in middle of Manhattan and also ran in Atlanta. She also did a benefit for Atlanta Humane Society and The Station nightclub fire. After Hairspray she returned to the United States and joined an Atlanta musical group Butterfly Stitch which released an EP and live album.

Granville Automatic

In 2009 she co-founded Granville Automatic, a country duo, with guitarist and songwriter Elizabeth Elkins who is a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Boys Club for Girls

In 2019 she joined with Amie Miriello to form the Americana duo, Boys Club for Girls. On January 27, 2020, they released a video for the song "The Weatherman" off their album expected to release later in the year.

Awards and nominations

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| align="center"| 2005

|Dora Mavor Moore Awards

|Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Musical (As lead Tracy Turnblad in the Canadian production of Hairspray)

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Discography

Albums

  • Granville Automatic - "Granville Automatic" - Release date: May 1, 2012
  • Granville Automatic - "Live from Sun Studio" - Release date: January 31, 2012

Singles

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|The One

  • Released: 2003
  • Charts: Number 9 Canada.

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|The One (The Remixes)

  • Released: 2008

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References

  • Granville Automatic