Fans of Aaron Carter paid tribute to the singer, who was found dead at his home on Saturday, with many mourning the fact that the former teen idol had died so young.
New Kids on the Block shared that they are “shocked and saddened” at the news of his death, and songwriter Diane Warren tweeted, “Fame at a young age is often more a curse than a blessing and surviving it is not easy. RIP Aaron Carter.”
Others echoed her sadness about Aaron’s early death. “Being a child star is rough and unfortunately many don’t come out unscathed, wrote one fan.
Dozens of tributes were posted to social media, including one by actress and singer Melanie Buford, who fondly remembered meeting her “favorite childhood singer” in 2005. “I saw Aaron Carter performed at Edgewater Mall in Biloxi and it was a day I will always remember forever. He saw me from the stage and shook my hand,” she wrote on Instagram. “He had that charisma about him that was indescribable. You can tell, however, he was searching for something… I am grateful for the times he and I occasionally spoke together online. I hope he found peace somewhere.”
Fellow teen idol Vince Tomas, who was a member of multinational boy band US5, shared a photo of himself with Carter on Instagram. He wrote, “Wow… I’m deeply saddened and shocked. I can’t believe he’s gone… The time I spent with him on tour was some of the best moments in my life! He was a great showman, very generous and caring guy. You will be deeply missed my brother! Rest in peace.”
A fan’s tweet, “You changed pop culture forever,” alongside a photo of Aaron alongside “Lizzie Maguire” star Hilary Duff, had more than 11,000 likes on Twitter. “This is how I’d like to remember Aaron Carter,” another wrote in her retweet of video from Carter’s 2001 appearance on Duff’s Disney Channel show.
A “Dancing With the Stars” fan account tweeted a picture of him from his 2015 stint on the reality competition with the message, “Rest in peace, Aaron Carter.” And yet another remembered him for singing the theme song to the animated series, “Liberty’s Kids.”
Here’s a small sampling: