Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987 - November 5, 2022) was an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and actor. He became one of the most recognizable teen pop performers of the late 1990s and early 2000s, building a career around upbeat pop, hip-hop-influenced production, and a highly visible presence on television and in music videos.
Carter began performing as a child in Tampa, Florida. He first attracted attention by singing with a local band before making his solo debut during a 1997 performance opening for the Backstreet Boys, the group that included his older brother Nick Carter. His self-titled debut album was released in Europe in 1997, when he was nine years old, and gained international attention. The album produced the singles "Crush on You" and "Crazy Little Party Girl," introducing Carter as a younger counterpart to the era's hugely successful boy-band acts.
His commercial breakthrough came with *Aaron's Party (Come Get It)* in 2000. The album combined pop melodies, dance-oriented arrangements, and playful hip-hop elements, and its title track became his signature song. It reached number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum in the United States. Other popular tracks included "I Want Candy," "That's How I Beat Shaq," and "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)." Carter supported the album with extensive touring and television appearances, including performances connected with Nickelodeon and tours with the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
Carter continued his success with *Oh Aaron* in 2001. The album featured a duet with Nick Carter and further established Aaron's public image as a youthful pop entertainer. It was followed by *Another Earthquake!* in 2002, an album that retained his energetic style while marking the end of his first major period of commercial success. A compilation, *Most Requested Hits*, appeared in 2003.
Beyond recording, Carter worked in several areas of entertainment. He appeared in television programs including *Lizzie McGuire*, *Sabrina, the Teenage Witch*, and *7th Heaven*, and took film roles in *Fat Albert*, *Popstar*, *Supercross*, and *I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With*. He also performed on stage in the Broadway production of *Seussical* and in the off-Broadway revival of *The Fantasticks*. Music videos remained an important part of his career, from the brightly colored productions surrounding *Aaron's Party* to later videos such as "Fool's Gold" and "Sooner or Later."
After a long gap between albums, Carter returned with the *Love* EP in 2017 and the full-length album *Love* in 2018. These releases presented a more mature, electronic pop sound and reflected his attempt to move beyond the image of his childhood career. He continued recording and releasing singles during the final years of his life, including collaborations with independent artists.
Carter died at his home in Lancaster, California, on November 5, 2022, at the age of 34. The Los Angeles County medical examiner later classified his death as an accidental drowning associated with the effects of difluoroethane and alprazolam. The posthumous album *Blacklisted* appeared shortly afterward, while *Recovery* was released in 2024. Carter's career remains closely associated with the peak of early-2000s teen pop, but his later work also showed a sustained effort to redefine himself as an adult recording artist.