Aaron Carter, Singer and Onetime Teenage Sensation, Dies at 34
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Aaron Carter, the singer and actor who briefly became a teenage sensation in the early 2000s and who was known for the hit song “I Want Candy,” was found dead on Saturday at his home in Southern California. He was 34.
Taylor Helgeson, a representative for Big Umbrella, an entertainment management company, confirmed Mr. Carter’s death but declined to comment on the cause of death.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call at Mr. Carter’s home in Lancaster, Calif., on Saturday and found a person dead at the residence, according to Deputy Alejandra Parra, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department. Officials said they could not yet confirm that it was Mr. Carter.
Mr. Carter, who released his first album at age 9 and the popular album “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” at age 12, became a fixture on teenage programming and magazines and made appearances on shows like “Lizzie McGuire.”
“Aaron’s Party” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 list, selling some three million copies. He released five studio albums and was a contestant on the show “Dancing With the Stars.”
His career later stalled, and in recent years he was embroiled in legal trouble and shared his struggles with addiction. In 2018, he released his first album in some 15 years, “Love,” to lukewarm reviews.
Mr. Carter first began performing at age 7, singing lead for the band Dead End for two years, according to an online biography.
At 9, he was opening for the Backstreet Boys in Berlin for his first solo appearance. (His older brother, Nick Carter, was a member of the band.)
The performance led to a record contract and then the release of his first single, “Crush on You.” He also opened for Britney Spears.
The pop star was also an actor, starring in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “7th Heaven.”
McKenna Oxenden contributed reporting.