Aaron Carter

Aaron Charles Carter, born December 7, 1987, in Tampa, Florida, was an American singer, rapper, and stage performer who died on November 5, 2022. He was the son of Jane Eleonora Schneck and Robert Gene Carter, who operated a retirement home. His siblings included his older brother Nick, a member of the Backstreet Boys; his twin sister Angel, a model; sisters Bobbie Jean and Leslie; half-sister Ginger Lee Carter; and half-brother Kaden Carter. Carter attended Frank D. Miles Elementary School and the Ruskin School in Florida.

Carter's performing career began at age seven, when he served as lead singer of a band called Dead End. He departed after two years due to differing musical interests and made his first solo appearance at nine years old, opening for the Backstreet Boys in Berlin in March 1997 with a performance of "Crush on You." A record deal followed, and his self-titled debut studio album was released on December 1, 1997, achieving gold certification in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Spain, and selling approximately one million copies worldwide.

His second studio album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It), was released on September 26, 2000, under the Jive label and was certified three-times platinum by the RIAA, selling more than three million copies in the United States. Singles from the album, including "I Want Candy," "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)," "That's How I Beat Shaq," and "Bounce," received airplay on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Carter also performed as an opening act on tours for the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again Tour during this period.

In April 2001, Carter made his Broadway debut at age thirteen, playing the role of JoJo the Who in the musical Seussical. That same year, he recorded his third studio album, Oh Aaron, released on August 7, 2001, which featured a duet with his brother Nick and a collaboration with the group No Secrets. The album went platinum, and three of its songs — "Leave It Up to Me," "A.C.'s Alien Nation," and "Go Jimmy Jimmy" — appeared on the soundtrack for the 2001 animated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. In March 2001, he had also made his television acting debut with a guest appearance on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire.

Carter's fourth studio album, Another Earthquake!, was released on September 3, 2002, and included the tracks "America A.O." and "Do You Remember." He guest-starred on three episodes of the Nickelodeon series All That and contributed "Through My Own Eyes" as the theme song for the PBS animated series Liberty's Kids. A hits collection, Most Requested Hits, followed on November 3, 2003, drawing from his previous three albums and including a new single, "One Better."

During this period, Carter's parents filed a lawsuit against his former manager Lou Pearlman, alleging unpaid royalties from his 1998 album, which had been released through Pearlman's Trans Continental label. On March 13, 2003, Pearlman was found in contempt of court for failing to produce relevant documents, though the case was ultimately settled out of court. In 2006, Trans Continental filed a counter-suit against Carter, claiming he had reneged on a recording contract signed on December 7, 2004, when he was seventeen. Carter's attorney contended that he had the legal right to void agreements entered into as a minor.

Carter's personal finances were significantly affected by the management of his earnings during his childhood. Under the California Child Actor's Bill, fifteen percent of his income was to be held in a Coogan account, but Carter stated he received only two million dollars upon turning eighteen in 2005, far less than he believed he was owed. He also reported learning at that time that he owed four million dollars in back taxes. His parents divorced in 2004, a development Carter said he was informed of just one hour before filming an episode of MTV Cribs.

Beyond music, Carter appeared on the television competition Dancing with the Stars and performed in the off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks. In 2014, he released the single "Ooh Wee" featuring rapper Pat SoLo, followed by "Fool's Gold" in 2016 and an EP titled Love in 2017. His fifth studio album, also titled Love, was released in 2018. A sixth album, Blacklisted, was released two days after his death on November 5, 2022, which was ruled accidental and drug-related.