Troubled former child star Aaron Carter, who rose to fame as a solo artist after his older brother Nick Carter’s success with the Backstreet Boys, has died at the age of 34, a representative for the singer confirmed to Yahoo. A statement from his family and management will be issued soon. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department confirms to Yahoo that deputies responded to Carter’s home in Lancaster, Calif., on Saturday shortly after 11 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found a dead body. Homicide is handling the investigation, which is standard procedure at this time. TMZ broke the news, citing sources who claim the singer drowned. Aaron Carter at Tower Records in London in 1997 when he was 10 years old. (Photo: Fred Duval/FilmMagic) As the boy band dominated the charts in the mid-90s, the adorable Aaron, who was still in the single digits, became the lead singer of his own band, Dead End, at the age of 7. However, he quickly struck out on his own at the age of 9, releasing a self-titled album in 1997. That same year, he made his first solo appearance opening for the Backstreet Boys in Berlin, covering the Jets’ song “Crush on You”. Focusing on pop and rap, his 2000 second album Aaron’s Party (Come Get It), sold over three million copies, his best-seller. It included the title track as well as “That’s How I Beat Shaq” and “Bounce”. Two more albums — 2001’s Oh Aaron, covering “I Want Candy” and the Nick collaboration “Not Too Young, Not Too Old” and 2002’s Another Earthquake! — quickly followed but didn’t sell the same. The latter was his last studio album—there were compilations in between—until 2018’s Love, a 16-year album drought. As a child star, he befriended Michael Jackson, appearing on the King of Pop’s charity effort, “What More Can I Give,” a sequel to “We Are the World.” Aaron remained Jackson’s defender after the star’s death and child abuse allegations resurfaced. The story continues During the gap between albums, Aaron focused on television. Having already made cameos in Lizzie McGuire (eventually leading to a teen romance with star Hilary Duff) and All That, he then starred in episodes of 7th Heaven and appeared in 2006’s House of Carters, a reality show centered around his famous family , including his siblings. Nick, BJ, Leslie and Aaron’s twin sister Angel. On the show he got into a fight with his brother Nick. The reality series – an easy target – was parodied on Saturday Night Live with Andy Samberg playing Aaron. Aaron later appeared on 2014’s I Heart Nick Carter and competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2009, finishing in fifth place. A 2005 film she starred in, Popstar, went straight to video, and she had a brief appearance in Broadway’s Seussical. However, Aaron was plagued by personal problems in the long gap between his albums. His parents, Jane and Robert Carter, sued his former manager, the disgraced and now deceased Lou Perlman, in 2002 for failing to pay Aaron royalties. A year later, Aaron claimed his mom Jane took more than $100,000 from his bank account without permission. And a decade later, in 2013, he filed for bankruptcy to shed more than $3.5 million in debt, paying it off the following year. Nick Carter poses with brother Aaron Carter in October 2006. (Photo by John Sciulli/WireImage for YMI JEANSWEAR INTERNATIONAL) But it was much more than money woes. At just 15, photos of Aaron high on marijuana appeared in the National Enquirer. He was later arrested twice — first in 2008 on marijuana charges and then in 2017 on DUI and possession of marijuana. He did multiple stints in rehab, including once in 2011 and twice in 2017. He later admitted to addictions to Xanax, Oxycodone and huffing. She also struggled with eating disorders and body dysmorphia, weighing just 115kg in 2017. Aaron revealed to The Doctors in 2017 that he had extensive mental health issues and had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe anxiety. Aaron’s family problems escalated later in life. He and Nick fired their mother over financial woes, his sister Leslie died of an overdose in 2012, and his father died unexpectedly in 2017. However, his erratic behavior—and his arsenal of weapons—led Nick’s siblings and Angell to take out restraining orders against him in September, citing his “increasingly disturbing behavior.” Aaron hit back on social media to call his brother a “serial rapist”. Aaron’s erratic behavior continued amid controversy over his siblings when he debuted a large face tattoo soon after. He was being treated for exhaustion. He appeared angry and unsteady after a court appearance. He also rehired his mother as his manager, despite the alleged theft years earlier. The most disturbing thing is that it all took place on social media. He posted non-stop on Twitter and Instagram, spouting various conspiracy theories about the people who were out to get him or attack Nick. At that point, unfortunately, his music was overshadowed by his personal woes, making for a very sad ending to his story. After firing his mother, Jane Carter, as his manager, Aaron Carter rehired her in 2019. The couple appeared on Marriage Boot Camp Family Edition in October 2019. (Photo: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for WE tv) A heartthrob since his early days as a star, Carter found himself embroiled in a teenage love triangle with fellow stars Duff and Lindsay Lohan, dating both at the same time in the early years. He carried a torch for Duff for more than a decade, declaring his love for her on social media in 2011. At 18, he had a brief engagement to Playboy model Kari Ann Peniche, which they broke off after six days. At 22, he got engaged to Maile Hochuli, but that didn’t last either. He also had highly publicized and failed relationships with Kaci Brown, Madison Parker and Lina Valentina. Aaron came out as bisexual in 2017 while dating Parker by revealing that he had a sexual experience with a man at the age of 17. However, he made it clear that he wanted to marry and start a family with a woman. In 2021, Aaron announced his engagement to Melanie Martin, but the couple split just days after welcoming their baby, son Prince Lyric Carter, on November 22, 2021. Last September Aaron revealed that he and Martin had lost custody of their then 9-month-old son amid drug abuse concerns and allegations of domestic abuse. At the time, the new dad shared that he had voluntarily entered rehab for the fifth time in an effort to regain custody of his son. “It’s an abstinence program and I’m working with an individual counsellor,” she told the Sun. “I’m doing group therapy, parenting classes, domestic violence classes, I got certified in CPR, just a lot of different things. It’s new to be a parent, but it’s actually been really fun and exciting and it’s given me a new chapter in my life. It’s been amazing.” .
