Singer/rapper and former child star Aaron Carter has died at the age of 34. An official cause of death has not been made public at this time, but TMZ, who initially broke the story, cited claims that he was found deceased in his bathtub.
Aaron Carter rose to fame as the younger brother of ’90s boyband heartthrob Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. The younger Carter fronted his first group, the Dead End, at just seven years old before striking out on his own at age nine. He released his self-titled debut album in 1997 and achieved breakthrough success with his 2000 album Aaron’s Party (Come Get It), which included tracks like “Bounce” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq”, a song about Shaquille O’Neal challenging the young musician to a game of basketball (spoiler alert, Aaron wins, but it was all a dream… or was it?). He went on to release two followups—2001’s Oh Aaron, which included his famous cover of “I Want Candy”, and 2002’s Another Earthquake! After that, he did not release an album until 2018’s Love.
In addition to music, the young Carter worked in TV, appearing on All That, 7th Heaven, and 2006’s House of Carters, a reality show about his family, including siblings Nick, B.J., Leslie, and his twin sister Angel. He also appeared on Lizzie McGuire alongside fellow child star Hillary Duff, with whom he became romantically involved while also dating Lindsay Lohan. He starred in the 2005 film Popstar and had a brief stint on Broadway in Seussical. In 2009, he finished in fifth place on Dancing With the Stars.
Synthesizing pop, rap, and hip-hop with a silly, kid-friendly party vibe, Aaron Carter’s music, along with his boyish charisma, made him a favorite of the ’90s babies who were just old enough to buy his cassettes, and he has remained a mostly beloved though troubled figure of millennial nostalgia.
In adulthood, he experienced personal problems including substance abuse issues and family disputes. He did multiple stints in rehab for addictions to Xanax, Oxycodone, and huffing and also struggled with eating disorders and body dysmorphia. In 2017, he revealed on an episode of The Doctors that he had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and acute anxiety.
Aaron accused his mother Jane of stealing more than $100k from his bank account back in 2002, and he and his brother Nick ultimately both fired her, though he rehired her in 2019. Their sister Leslie died of an overdose in 2012 and their father died unexpected in 2017. Nick and Angel filed restraining orders against Aaron in 2019 due to his “increasing alarming behavior.” Aaron responded by calling his brother a “serial rapist” on social media and unveiled a large face tattoo soon after.
Aaron welcomed his son, Prince Lyric Carter, with Melanie Martin on November 22nd, 2021. The couple ended their engagement days later. Aaron revealed in September that they had lost custody of the then-9-month-old due to concerns over drug use and allegations of domestic abuse. He later announced he had voluntarily entered a rehab program with the intention of regaining custody of his son.
“It’s an abstinence program and I work with an individual counselor,” he told the Sun. “I do group therapy, parenting classes, domestic violence classes, I got myself certified in CPR, just a lot of different things. It’s new being a parent but it’s actually become really fun and exciting and given me a new chapter of my life. It’s been amazing.”
“I love Aaron with all my heart and it’s going to be a journey to raise a son without a father,” Melanie Martin told TMZ. “We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality.”
Aaron Carter – “That’s How I Beat Shaq”
Aaron Carter – “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)”