Nick Carter was comforted by his fellow Backstreet Boys on stage after the death of his younger brother Aaron Carter who was just 34 years old. Kevin Richardson, 51, lead the tribute to the supportive audience as he thanked fans — whom he called BSB “family” — for their love at London’s O2 arena on Sunday, Nov. 6. “That [last] song we performed is about family. Everyone here — we all grew up together through the highs and the lows…we thank you being part of the Backstreet family,” Kevin began as AJ McLean immediately embraced a teary Nick, 42, alongside Brian Littrell, 47.
Most emotional moment of the Backstreet Boys concert so far. They made a speech about Aaron Carter.
Not a dry eye in the o2. pic.twitter.com/YBpTz6neVc— All That Dazzles (@ATDazzles) November 6, 2022
“Tonight we have heavy hearts as we lost one of our family members yesterday. We just wanted to find a moment in our show to recognize him,” Kevin said to the roaring audience as Howie Dorough, 49, could also be seen comforting Nick. “Nick’s little brother Aaron passed away yesterday at 34 years old — and he’s a part of our family and we want to thank you guys for all your love, your well wishes and all your support,” he said before passing off to Howie.
“We want to dedicate this next song to our little brother Aaron Carter,” Howie then announced as the music for the song “Breathe” from their 2013 album In a World Like This began to play.
Earlier in the day, Nick took to Instagram to pay tribute to his youngest sibling. “My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” Nick wrote on Nov. 6, sharing a series of throwback photos over the years with Aaron as a kid and teen. “I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed,” he said, referencing Aaron’s struggles with addiction and mental health. The Aaron’s Party singer had been open about his challenges with drugs, talking about his abuse of pills in a 2019 interview with The Doctors. He had also been to rehab several times, including a recent stint last month in an effort to regain custody of his son Prince, who turns one years old later this month.
“Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz, now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth….God, Please take care of my baby brother,” he also said.
Aaron was found in a bathtub unresponsive by his fiancée Melanie Martin on the morning of Nov. 5 at his Lancaster, California home. A 911 call was placed to dispatchers around 11 a.m. and the home was later surrounded by caution tapes with Sheriff vehicles and first responders seen outside. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed by a coroner.