Title: Teen hearthrob returns to Manchester, remembers special fan
Date: September 19, 2002
Source: The Union Leader (Manchester NH)
Source: Section C Pg. 32
Topic: Article/Interview
TEEN hearthrob Aaron Carter paused, trying to recall the details of his visit to Manchester in February 2001.
The silence stretched into crackling, the cell phone connection faltering as his tour bus headed into a New Jersey tunnel en route to his next concert venue.
Then a faint image began to emerge, and the 14-year-old pop singer recalled taking the stage at McAllister Auditorium at Central High School after meeting a little girl with painted nails and a bright smile. He had written her name, "Becky," on his palm and teasingly admonished, "You better enjoy the show." What he didn't know is that just a matter of days after the encounter, 10-year-old Becky Landry, the daughter of Kristina and Jean Landry of Manchester, lost her battle against an inoperable brain tumor.
Now, preparing to return to the city, this time for a 6:30 p.m. show at the Verizon Wireless Arena Sunday, Sept. 22, Carter, who earlier in the day performed on the "Regis and Kelly" television show, wondered what he might say to Landry's family.
"It's pretty upsetting that she died right afterwards," Carter said, searching for words. "I guess I would tell them I really feel happy that she got to see my show and that she got to meet me a week before she passed away. I'm happy for making her dreams come true."
Carter also spoke of the possibility of taking a minute to tell crowds at the Verizon this weekend about Landry. "I would probably tell everyone about her and that I was there."
Having opened shows for Britney Spears and his brother Nick Carter's band, the Backstreet Boys, it's Carter's turn to go the solo route. He plans to showcase new tunes off his latest effort, "Another Earthquake."
"There's a lot of new stuff in the show," Carter said. "All seven songs on the new album are in the show. I'm looking foward to performing in New Hampshire. I love performing there. It's a beautiful state. I've probably been there about four or five times."
Opening his Verizon show will be Jump 5, No Secrets and Triple Image.
"It's exciting," Carter said. "I have eight dancers and me. I have a four-piece band, a piano player, a bass player, a guitarist and a drummer, and two background singers.
"And the stage -- you have to see the stage. We have cars that come out on stage and I fly in the show. I do a Peter Pan on stage." The show will feature "Summertime," the first single from the "Earthquake" CD, as well as "When It Comes To You" and "Keep Believing."
"My favorite song to perform is 'Do You Remember'," Carter said. "I come up from a riser and I sing a ballad. It's about a girl and I'm asking her, 'Do you remember me?' I'm asking her if she is remembering all the things I did for her."
Carter's earlier releases include "Aaron Carter," "Aaron's Party (Come and Get It)" and the 2001 multi-platinum hit CD "Oh Aaron." He won Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice awards and has performed on the Disney channel, at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Rosie O'Donnell show in addition to his role in the Broadway hit musical "Suessical the Musical."
Meanwhile, his tour, which is scheduled to continue through the end of the month, is interspersed with television appearances, in which he plugs not only his own new release but his brother Nick's new CD, due in stores Oct. 22. "Another Earthquake" gives a few audio glimpses of his older brothers' new stuff.
"I decided to give him some support -- give some snippets of his work out," Carter said. "We're both doing solo stuff. (But) we're actually talking about joining together next year. We just thought everything went so well when we were together and we should try it again."
