Singer Aaron Carter found dead at Lancaster home

Singer Aaron Carter, who rose to fame with catchy pop songs in the late 1990s and later struggled with drug addiction, was found dead at his home in Lancaster on Saturday, authorities said.

Carter, 34, was found in his bathtub, according to two law enforcement sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the incident.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said they received a call about 11 a.m. from a house sitter who found him unresponsive. They said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

The former child star, the younger brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, started his career with his self-titled debut album in 1997 at age 9. That year, he opened for the Backstreet Boys on their tour. He also performed as an opening act for Britney Spears.

Carter quickly gained a following with songs like “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)," “Crazy Little Party Girl,” “I Want Candy” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq.”

For a swath of millennial pop fans, Carter was a proto-Justin Bieber — puckish and crush-able with squeaky-clean hits about young love. His guest appearance on "Lizzie McGuire" charmed an era of Disney Channel fans. He also rapped and became a television personality, appearing on the reality series “House of Carters” on E! Entertainment Television.

Although his transition to more adult hip-hop and R&B music on albums like 2018's "Love" (with an edgier look of full-face tattoos) didn't keep him atop the charts, 30-something fans still fondly recalled his place in their lives as a teen idol.

He appeared on ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars," and had a role in the Broadway Dr. Seuss musical "Seussical."

“He was very talented,” said Phil Lobel, a publicist who worked with Carter in his early years and again when he was 30.

Lobel remembered riding with Carter to venues where young fans holding posters would mob the tour bus, trying to get close to the star.

“That whole generation of kids used Aaron Carter as their soundtrack to their own lives. And now they're adults,” Lobel said. “And I think they were all hoping that Aaron would be able to overcome his problems and continue to make more music.”

Carter was open about his struggles with mental health conditions and substance abuse. In a 2019 episode of the show "The Doctors," he said he suffered from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression, and was taking a bevy of prescription medications including Xanax.

Drug abuse had troubled the Carter family before. His 25-year-old sister died of a prescription drug overdose in 2012, leading him to say he "would never overtake" medication. In 2017, he cycled in and out of a rehab facility but posted his progress on social media, writing next to a pair of selfies: "Needed some time to heal and this is a direct result."

Carter’s troubled relationship with his brother Nick and twin sister, Angel, became public in 2019 when the two sought a restraining order against him.

Carter said in September that he had enrolled in rehab for a fifth time, seeking to regain custody of his 10-month-old son, Prince, who was under the court-ordered care of his fiancée’s mother. Carter said his previous attempts to wean off certain medications that had been prescribed during rehab resulted in his going to “a very dark depressive state” and that he “didn’t function normally.”

In September, deputies checked Carter’s home after fans feared he was using drugs. But deputies found no drugs, according to a law enforcement source. Three days before Carter’s body was found, deputies stopped him in his RV when it was reported to be weaving on an Antelope Valley road. Deputies determined that he was not under the influence.

Carter’s fiancée, Melanie Martin, asked for privacy as the family grieves.

“We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality,” Martin said. “Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.