Title: Out of his shadow: Aaron Carter isn't likely to take a back seat ...
Topic: Article/Interview
Source: The Plain Dealer
Source: FRIDAY MAG; Pg. 16
Author: Anastasia Pantsios
Date: March 2, 2001
Out of his shadow
Aaron Carter isn't likely to take a back seat to his Backstreet brother
Where: Lakewood Civic Auditorium, 14100 Franklin Blvd.
When: 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: Sold out
Of note: Tickets purchased for the original Dec. 1, 2000, date will ONLY be honored at the 7 p.m. concert
Contemplating the career of Aaron Carter a.k.a. "The Little Prince of Pop" is enough to make even the most hardworking and ambitious person feel like he's frittering away his time.
Singing almost as soon as he could talk, Carter had his own little rock band together before he was old enough to go to kindergarten, playing "Tom Petty songs and Green Day, stuff like that." By the age of 6, he was performing in public. By the time he was 10, he had his first CD out. And, just in time for his 13th birthday last December, his latest album, "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)," released in September, was certified platinum for its million sales worldwide. It's currently at No. 39 on the Billboard chart. He's already a seasoned veteran of worldwide touring, having been to Japan, Australia and Europe. He'll be in Cleveland at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium for two shows this Sunday. "Aaron's Party" is frothy, lightweight dance-pop that appeals to the kid sisters of the girls who like the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Its songs are interspersed with skits on topics like school and puppy love that display Carter's naturalness and easygoing sense of humor. It contains surprisingly accomplished renditions of Shirley Ellis' 1965 hit "The Clapping Song," the @Strangeloves' "I Want Candy" and New Orleans R&B staple "Iko Iko," along with new tunes like "My Internet Girl" and the entertaining fantasy narrative "That's How I Beat Shaq." The video for that catchy single features Shaquille O'Neal himself. Carter shows facility at handling a beat-driven dance tune like "Real Good Time," the hip-hop-influenced title track and a ballad like "Girl You Shine," though he reveals his age when he defuses the sentimental content of the latter with a human beat box final. The package promotes his all-American good looks with a cover photo that features the tousle-headed blond in a jean jacket, sitting in front of an American flag, looking as wholesome as, well, apple pie.
Carter was fortunate to come out at a period when teen pop is hotter than it has ever been and a cute blond boy with a flair for presenting himself well has a primed and eager audience. But a large part of Carter's success story has to do with his supportive family. He's following a trail blazed by his 21-year-old brother, Nick - as in Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. Nick's career was encouraged by parents, Bob and Jane, as Aaron related in a recent phone interview.
"Nick just started singing one day and my mom was like, wow! She started putting him into talent shows and contests and then he joined the Mickey Mouse Club and that was it."
Seeing the attention Nick was getting and the fun he was having made Aaron want to try his hand at it, and he got similar encouragement from his family. Like the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, Carter tested the waters first in Europe where his self-titled debut album was released in 1998. He also had a 1999 EP with a cover of "Surfing U.S.A."
Those who follow such things will recall that another teen idol, Leif Garrett, had a hit with that song in 1977. But Carter seems much more level-headed and grounded than Garrett, who ended up trashing his career with drinking and drug use. His watchful mother acts as his manager, even appearing - as his mother - on the "Shaq" track. And unlike so many teen idols, from Garrett to the Cassidy brothers to New Kids on the Block, Carter doesn't seem compelled to develop a bad boy swagger to defuse his boyish sweetness. Where so many teen idols have been in a hurry to get away from the romantic music their audiences like and do harder-edged music, Carter says, "I think there will be more ballads on my next album. There's two on this one and on the next one, we'll do three or four."
Also refreshing is the relish with which Carter talks about his extensive touring schedule. It's almost a clich@ for young performers to talk about missing a "normal" life and how they wish they could go to the prom like regular kids. But Carter cheerfully says "I'd rather be home-schooled." And though he says there are things about being on the road that get on his nerves, "I put them behind me. I like seeing all of the different places. That's been fun for me."
The Carter family dynasty extends beyond Nick and Aaron. Sister Leslie, who is 14, just released her first album last year. Aaron also has a twin sister, Angel, but Aaron says she has no musical ambitions; she wants to be a model.
Pantsios is a freelance writer from Cleveland Heights.
