The Daily Epic Earworm For October 28, 2025

Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.

Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable epic earworm of the day…and the story behind it.

Today’s Epic Earworm: Vanessa Carlton — “A Thousand Miles”

Music Video for “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, Courtesy of IGA Records

Vanessa Carlton’s debut album, Be Not Nobody, went platinum largely based on the success of its first single, “A Thousand Miles.” The song was a smash hit for Carlton. It was nominated for Grammy Awards in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) categories. “A Thousand Miles” peaked at Number Five on the Billboard singles chart and topped the Pop Airplay chart. It was #1 in Australia and Austria, and landed in the Top Ten in four other countries.

Carlton’s Crush

Years after the song’s release, Carlton admitted that she had written the song about a crush that she had while she attended the School of American Ballet. Her crush attended Juilliard, and SAB and Juilliard are both located at Lincoln Center in New York. Carlton would never admit who the crush was, but she did say that he was a famous actor. She never approached the actor, though, because she believed she had no chance.

There has been much speculation over the years as to who the actor might be. Glenn Howerton, Anthony Mackie, and Oscar Isaac have been the most popular candidates amongst Carlton’s sleuthing fans. Whoever the crush may have been, things seem to have worked out just fine for the pop singer without him. She has been happily married to John McCauley of the band Deer Tick for 12 years.