Title: Carter makes a big splash
Source: The Post and Courier
Source: Pg. 6F
Author: Prentiss Findlay
Date: August 22, 2002
Topic: 2002 Article/Interview
Location: Charleston, SC
Hey girls, want to know how to get closer to Aaron Carter? Just chat him up about his whale. No kidding. Aaron loves animals and figures he's had 50 pets in his lifetime. He has quite a few at his home in the Florida Keys. Nine dogs, four cats, two turtles, two birds, a ferret and an iguana, to be exact.
No partridge in a pear tree yet, but there is a miniature whale in a 50-foot-by-100-foot pool. The white whale is 5-feet, 6-inches long. He said it's called a miniature Beluga African Swahili whale. "A fan got it for me somewhere. It looks more like a manatee," he said.
While his whale swims back home, Carter takes to the highway with his manager mom to entertain his legions of fans who are eagerly awaiting his next studio album. He said last Thursday that he's set to drop "Another Earthquake" on his teen audience today, the release date for his new album. It's the follow-up to Carter's last jive release, "Oh Aaron," which has sold more than a million copies. "Aaron's Party" has sold nearly 3 million copies.
Carter spoke by phone last Thursday backstage at a show in Green Bay, Wis. He said there are some stylistic changes on the new album.
"It will be similar to my other albums, but it's not exactly the same. My voice has gotten better as I got older. My voice is a little deeper, but my range is still the same," he said.
Aaron is the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. In March of 1997, Aaron performed during a Backstreet Boys concert in Berlin, Germany, and he stole the show. After the concert, he was offered a record contract. He became popular in Europe, and then his first full album, "Aaron Carter," was introduced in the United States in the summer of 1998.
Carter's audience is "tweeners," a music industry term for 10 to 14 year olds. That's his strongest fan base, but his shows draw a family crowd of all ages. His fans are mostly girls. Thousands of them scream at his concerts.
"It's an amazing feeling. It's very fun," he said.
Carter, 14, is seen as an artist breathing new life into the teen pop genre. Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys have matured, so kids are looking for something to call their own. The music biz delivers Carter to fill that role on his "Rock, Rap and Retro Tour," which comes to North Charleston Coliseum on Tuesday. Carter's past tours have been extravaganzas offering stages with stuff like trampolines, a slide, a fireman's pole, scaffolding, a conveyor belt and a trap door. Carter has surprises planned for his show here.
"I fly in the show," he said. He doesn't want to give away too much, so that's all he had to say about levitating.
The stage will have a retro feel with brick walls, graffiti and a 1952 Spitfire automobile. "It kind of gives an old-school flavor," he said. Carter said he likes old-school funk -- the Gap Band, Parliament, KC & the Sunshine Band.
"I have all kinds of music on this new album. There's a Latin kind of feel, a pop feel, rhythm and blues and rap." The Baha Men back Carter on "Summertime," a song with a bouncy, Caribbean vibe.
When not busy touring with his mom, who manages his career, Carter likes to relax with Nintendo, sports and music. "I love all kinds of music."
Carter said he wouldn't mind going into outer space like Lance Bass of 'N Sync. Bass is planning to be a crewmember on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the international space station in October. Russia wants $20 million from Bass for the trip.
"I would love it," Carter said.
