Nov. 5 (UPI) — Aaron Carter, the actor and “I Want Candy” singer who rose to fame as a teenage heartthrob in the early 2000s, has died. He was 34.
Carter’s death was confirmed by sources with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to CNN and TMZ, and by a representative for the Big Umbrella management company to The New York Times.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to his home in Lancaster around 11 a.m. after his body was found in the bathtub by a house sitter.
His debut album was followed by his hit record “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” when he was 12. That record peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 list and sold more than three million copies.
Carter would go on to release three more studio albums, with his most recent “Love” in 2018 coming after the star came out as bisexual in 2017.
He also made appearances on shows over the years including the beloved Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire, which increased his popularity among teenage girls, and later as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.
Hilary Duff, the star of “Lizzie McGuire” whom Carter previously dated, posted a touching tribute to him on her Instagram.
“I’m deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in front of the whole world,” Duff said.
“You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent … boy did my teenage self love you deeply.”
An alert from law enforcement indicated that homicide detectives were sent to investigate the scene, which is standard operating procedure in such deaths. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that there has been no information or evidence of foul play.
Carter was engaged to his on-again-off-again partner, singer Melanie Martin, and the pair have an infant son named Prince Lyric Carter.
The pop star released his first album “Aaron Carter” when he was 9 years old, and even performed as the opening act for the Backstreet Boys — in which his older brother, Nick Carter, was a member.
