Aaron Carter’s dulcet voice can be heard once again with the release of his posthumous single Grateful.
The late pop star — who died at the age of 34 in November 2022 — is featured on the uplifting anthem, which was cowritten by his close friend Bryan Cassidy and posted online on Friday.
‘Sunshine through my window, but it’s been a minute since I felt like this/Been a long week but I’m good though, every single breath is feeling like a gift,’ Aaron croons.
According to Bryan, the former child star was in his California home studio recording the ditty a few months before his tragic passing.
‘This [song] reminds me of the Aaron that I know,’ Bryan told People. ‘He just sounds so good on it. This is a positive way to remember Aaron.’
Aaron Carter ‘s dulcet voice can be heard once again with the release of his posthumous single Grateful; pictured 2017
The late pop star — who died at the age of 34 in November 2022 — is featured on the uplifting anthem, which was cowritten by his close friend Bryan Cassidy and posted online on Friday
Carter’s former manager and producer Morgan Matthews added, ‘He’d be so proud.’
Bryan mentioned that the song offers a meaningful way to remember Aaron, particularly given the challenges he grappled with in his later years, including substance abuse and mental health issues.
‘It was hard for me to hear the song and record it. I couldn’t record it. I would lose it, I would start crying every time,’ he explained to the outlet.
‘And you go through that and you realize a good one died young. It just sucks.’
In April 2023, Aaron’s autopsy revealed that he drowned in his bathtub after consuming Xanax and huffing ahead of his death at his home in Lancaster, California.
Carter’s autopsy results showed he had consumed alprazolam, which is a generic form of Xanax, and inhaled compressed difluoroethane,’ according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Inhaling compressed difluoroethane, a propellant used in cans of compressed air, is commonly known as ‘huffing.’
Carter was ‘incapacitated while in the bathtub due to the effects’ of the substances, according to officials.
Authorities said in the report that the entertainer, under the influence of the substances, ‘slipped under the water’ and drowned.
According to Bryan, the former child star was in his California home studio recording the ditty just a few months before his tragic passing
Aaron and sisters Angel, Bobbie Jean and Leslie in 2006
Nick Carter and Aaron in 2006
Aaron, survived by his one-year-old son Prince with fiancée Melanie Martin, navigated a life overshadowed by the struggles of substance abuse, marked by numerous arrests and periods in rehabilitation.
His battle with addiction intensified following the tragic death of his sister Leslie in 2012, succumbing to a prescription drug overdose at the young age of 25.
The blows kept coming for Aaron with the loss of his father, Robert Carter, to an apparent heart attack in 2017.
During his stint in rehab following his father’s passing, medical professionals diagnosed Aaron with multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia, shedding light on the complex challenges he faced.