American pop and hip-hop singer Aaron Carter, who rose to fame at the turn of the millennium with his album Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)died Saturday at the age of 34, reported the specialized media TMZ.
According to TMZ, Aaron Carter, who was the younger brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, was found dead in his bathtub at his residence in Lancaster, California.
A police spokesman contacted by AFP said a deceased person was discovered at the singer’s home on Saturday morning, but declined to confirm the identity of that person. Aaron Carter’s agent did not immediately respond to requests from AFP.
Born on December 7, 1987 in Tampa, Florida, Carter began his musical career at the age of 7. He was 9 years old when he released his first album, Crush on Youin 1997. Produced in September 2000, Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) sold three million copies in the United States and immediately propelled it to teen and tween darling status.
Aaron Carter had toured with The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, opening for their concerts. In 2001, his album Oh Aaronin which he sings a duet with his brother Mick, had won a platinum disc.
Although her popularity had faded somewhat with age, Carter continued to appear regularly on TV shows and post new songs online. But his turbulent private life, including money squabbles among his siblings of five, had made him the prey of the tabloids, and in 2011 he began a rehab.
In 2013, riddled with debts, in particular tax debts, he declared bankruptcy. He had also been in a lot of trouble with the authorities, mostly for possession of narcotics and dangerous driving.
Earlier this year, he told the DailyMail that he aspired to no longer be considered a “wreck”. “I am not what some people try to portray,” he pleaded. “If anyone wants to call me a train wreck, then I’m a train that’s been through a lot of accidents and derailed for a lot of reasons.”