Aaron Carter, the American singer who rose to prominence at the turn of the century with his album “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)”, passed away on Saturday, according to TMZ. He was 34 years old.
The brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was reportedly discovered dead in his bathtub at his apartment in Lancaster, California.
A police official told AFP that officers arrived at Carter’s residence at 10:58 a.m. and discovered a body, but that the individual has not yet been formally identified.
The management of Carter did not respond quickly to an AFP inquiry.
The Tampa, the Florida-born musician who was born on December 7, 1987, began performing at age seven and released his debut album at age nine in 1997.
“Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” sold three million copies in the United States, propelling him to teen idol status. He became a regular on Nickelodeon and Disney programs for preteens, including the popular “Lizzie McGuire.”
Carter toured alongside The Backstreet Boys, of which his older brother is a member and Britney Spears, and his following album, “Oh Aaron,” was certified platinum.
Carter stayed in the public glare, participating in a number of reality shows and off-Broadway musicals and releasing new songs online, despite the musician’s declining popularity as he aged.
But his personal troubles became tabloid fodder, including alleged conflict among the five Carter brothers and money-related family disputes.
Carter told his supporters that “the most important thing in life is not to be afraid of being human” when he attended a treatment facility in 2011.
After completing rehabilitation, the musician began doing one-off gigs, followed by a Canadian tour. In 2018, he published another album.
In 2013, he filed for bankruptcy due to millions in debt, most of which was tax-related. Carter had multiple run-ins with the law, primarily for possession and reckless driving.
In 2017, he began to openly discuss his arrests and emaciated look, which had prompted allegations of illness or illegal drug usage.
In 2018, he reported recovery after his self-admission to another treatment center for prescription drug abuse related to anxiety and sleep problems.
He told the Daily Mail earlier this year that he wished to no longer be perceived as a “train wreck.”
“I am not how some people try to paint me,” he told the outlet. “If somebody wants to call me a train wreck, well I’ve been a train that’s been wrecked multiple times and derailed by many different things.”
