Title: Do We Need Another Cute Teen Singer?
Date: September 25, 2000
Source: Los Angeles Times
Source: Calendar; Part F; Page 2; Entertainment Desk
Topic: News
The Backstreet Boys can don ties when need be, but do they have tails? Specifically, coattails--and are they long enough to drag the baby bro' of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter up the charts with them? Twelve-year-old Aaron Carter's new album, "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)," hits stores Tuesday, and folks at Jive Records, the red-hot label responsible for monster records from teen-pop acts including the Backstreeters, 'N Sync and Britney Spears, expect the younger Carter to ignite preteens the way his brother's band has set fire to their older siblings. But just how many cute young pop stars does the world have room for? "There's definitely a point of critical mass with this kind of act," says KIIS-FM (102.7) program director Michael Steele. "I don't know if we've reached it, but there was a time over the last couple of years when an image could sell records. The thing we keep reminding ourselves is that it doesn't matter what the image is as long as the songs are hits." And what of Carter's single, the album's title track? "We're not playing it," Steele reports, "and I've got to be honest . . . I don't have any plans to. It's OK, but I think the video is much stronger than the song. Obviously the only reason it's being looked at twice is because he's Nick Carter's brother." To Jive director of marketing Kim Kaiman, however, "As far as the Backstreet Boys connection, it's only a wonderful thing. It gives Aaron credibility and gives him a pedigree that is very rare." Kaiman also says skeptics will be surprised at how Carter's album will sell. "I think some people are underestimating his fan base. . . . We've been at No. 4 in Billboard's pop singles sales chart for four weeks. The single is selling 40,000 units a week, and we're selling 50,000 a week of his video. That tells us Aaron Carter is absolutely a star and that fans are champing at the bit for more."
