Aaron Carter

Aaron Charles Carter was an American singer and rapper who gained prominence as a teen pop performer in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He initially began performing at seven years old and launched a solo career shortly after, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences. Over the course of his career, Carter released multiple studio albums, featured on television networks such as Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, and performed in stage productions.

Carter was born on December 7, 1987, in Tampa, Florida, to Jane Schneck and Robert Gene Carter. He attended Frank D. Miles Elementary School and Ruskin Elementary School. Growing up in a musical family, his siblings included his older brother Nick, a member of the Backstreet Boys, alongside sisters Bobbie Jean, Leslie, twin sister Angel, half-sister Ginger Lee, and half-brother Kaden. The family starred in the 2006 reality television show House of Carters on E!, and Carter later appeared with his mother on the We TV series Marriage Bootcamp: Family Edition in 2019.

After starting as the lead singer of the group Dead End, Carter transitioned to solo pop music. He made his solo debut opening for the Backstreet Boys in Berlin in March 1997. He released his self-titled debut album later that year, which achieved gold status in several countries. His second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It), was released in 2000 and sold over three million copies in the United States, producing singles such as "I Want Candy" and "That's How I Beat Shaq." His third album, Oh Aaron, was released in 2001 and went platinum.

In addition to recording music, Carter built a career in acting and theatrical performance. He made his acting debut on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire in 2001 and made his Broadway debut playing JoJo the Who in Seussical that same year. He later starred in the 2005 film Popstar, competed on season 9 of Dancing with the Stars in 2009 placing fifth, and joined the off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks in 2011 as the central character Matt. He returned to concert touring in 2013 with the After Party Tour, performing over 150 shows across the United States and Canada.

In his later career, Carter released independent projects, including the EP The Music Never Stopped in 2015, the single "Fool's Gold" in 2016, and the EP LØVË in 2017 under his label Rakkaus Records. A full-length studio album of the same name was released in 2018. Following his death on November 5, 2022, his album Blacklisted was released posthumously later that month, followed by subsequent posthumous projects including the 2024 release Recovery.

Throughout his life, Carter was open about his personal life, health, and legal matters. He came out as bisexual in 2017 and had a son born in November 2021. He also publicly discussed his mental health diagnoses and underwent medical and rehabilitation treatments over the years. Carter passed away on November 5, 2022, at the age of 34.