How Nick Carter Is Healing One Year After Brother Aaron Carter’s Death _ E! News
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00:00 Wow, you have a lot going on right now.
00:02 And congratulations to you.
00:04 The new single "Made For Us" released yesterday.
00:07 I want you to take us into the process here,
00:09 the songwriting process and the inspiration behind it, Nick.
00:12 Yeah, so recently when I've been recording music by myself,
00:17 I like to have a lot of intent and thought behind it.
00:20 Every time I write a song, I say, all right,
00:22 well, what can I do content-wise that can kind of like pair up
00:26 with it?
00:28 And so the last song I had done, "Superman," I had this whole--
00:32 it was kind of like a little bit of a country feel or whatever.
00:35 And that was fun.
00:36 And then this one, I love '80s music.
00:40 I grew up listening to it.
00:41 That's what really inspired me.
00:42 That's why I was doing the "Who I Am" tour.
00:44 It's the music that kind of inspired me from 1980
00:47 all the way to '93 when I met the Backstreet Boys.
00:49 And that music was kind of a part of me.
00:52 So I said, well, I'm going to do an '80s throwback kind
00:55 of feel song.
00:56 So I wanted to make sure I had the sense in it.
00:58 I wanted to make sure that it had some of those drums that
01:01 are reminiscent of those times.
01:04 But it had to be a really good song.
01:06 And I had been writing a bunch of songs with my friend,
01:09 Brian Shackle.
01:11 And we came up with this one.
01:13 I was like, oh, this is great.
01:14 And so lyrically, we started adjusting it.
01:16 I said, OK, maybe this could be like a--
01:18 almost like a fan dedication video.
01:21 I had this idea, well, maybe we'll
01:23 have the fans submit a bunch of footage of us
01:28 throughout the years.
01:30 It could be me on stage.
01:31 It could be whatever since the beginning of time.
01:34 And we'll put them in the music video.
01:36 And so we did a lyric video, put them in there.
01:38 And now the music video is coming next.
01:42 It's just totally '80s, totally throwback, totally retro.
01:46 And that's coming, I think, in about a week from now.
01:48 Listen, from Backstreet Boys to Nick Carter going solo
01:52 since 2017, the Who I Am Tour.
01:54 I know you mentioned your goal was to have this tour explore
01:58 your own artistic expression.
01:59 So I want you to take me to a time where you struggled.
02:01 You may have struggled with your individuality
02:03 being in such an iconic boy band like the Backstreet Boys.
02:08 It's been the biggest problem for me as a solo artist
02:11 because we are in such a place in time where everybody knows.
02:18 We have a lot of albums, a lot of music.
02:21 And when we go on stage or we're performing that stuff,
02:24 that's what they want.
02:25 That's what they expect.
02:26 So you kind of conform to, like, OK,
02:29 you're Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys or whatever.
02:32 And then when I go out on my own, I say, all right, well,
02:35 I kind of just want to have fun and just explore and be
02:39 more creative.
02:41 And so that's why this tour for me--
02:47 why I called it the Who I Am Tour
02:48 because I wanted it to be the music that inspired
02:51 me to be who I am.
02:52 But then once I got out on tour, I
02:54 started to realize that it was more than just that.
02:59 It was taking my time, having a conversation, giving stories,
03:07 having them feel the pain and the hurt
03:10 and see me just as who I am and not just this Backstreet
03:17 Boy or whatever.
03:19 I am no different.
03:21 Even though I'm a performer and a singer and dancer
03:24 and have done this since I was 12 years old,
03:27 I've never looked at myself as being different than anybody.
03:30 I'm just a regular guy like everybody else out there.
03:33 I just happen to have fallen into this type of life
03:37 where I am an entertainer.
03:40 And so that really comes out in the show for the Who I Am show.
03:45 So it's therapeutic.
03:47 Speaking of therapeutic and the pain and the greatness,
03:50 I want to take a moment to pivot with respect, Nick.
03:53 I want to ask you, how are you doing?
03:55 I know it's been one year, almost one year,
03:58 November 5th, since your brother Aaron's passing.
04:01 How are you doing?
04:02 It's still unbelievable to me.
04:03 When I think back and I get to these holidays like Halloween
04:14 and these are moments and milestones and times
04:18 when I've actually shared those memories with my brother
04:21 and with my family, good times.
04:23 And even though I'm sharing it with my kids and my family now,
04:28 it's still-- there's times when I sit by myself
04:31 and-- or if I'm in my car and I say to myself,
04:34 this is unbelievable.
04:36 So I'm still processing the whole situation
04:39 and trying to make sense of it because it hasn't--
04:44 because no matter what he and I had gone through in our lives,
04:48 we always were able to make amends,
04:51 always were able to get back to that place.
04:53 And now I can't anymore.
04:54 And it hurts.
04:59 So yeah, I'm just still processing the whole thing.
05:08 And sometimes you push down because you
05:12 don't want to think about it.
05:15 And then it comes out like this.
05:19 But I'm hoping that one day I could make sense of it all.
05:23 My deepest condolences, Nick.
05:25 Thank you.
05:25 My deepest condolences.
05:27 I heard you mention that you push it down.
05:29 And that can't be easy.
05:32 What is the thing that you're thinking about as those tears
05:38 well up?
05:39 It's just that no matter what, he's my brother.
05:42 And I miss him.
05:43 I love him.
05:43 I am hoping one day it'll all make sense.
05:46 And I'm working on it.
05:48 I know that this moment has taught you probably
05:52 to hug your family even tighter.
05:54 I know you mentioned family.
05:55 Has the moment taught you to cling on tighter
05:58 to those babies of yours?
05:59 Absolutely.
06:00 My children are my everything.
06:07 If I lost everything, if I wasn't a back-shoe boy anymore,
06:11 if I didn't have the opportunity to still perform for people
06:16 and entertain them, as long as I still had my kids
06:20 and still had my family, I'd be OK.
06:23 It doesn't-- all this other stuff on the outside
06:26 doesn't matter to me.
06:28 And that's what I focus on, being present with my children,
06:33 listening to them, parent-teacher conferences,
06:37 driving them to school, taking them to Halloweens
06:40 and being there when they want a trick or treat,
06:44 trying to be the best father that I can.
06:46 And it's my job to create a safe space for my children
06:56 and give them those memories that they can look back
06:58 and be like--
06:59 because they're growing every single day, and I see them.
07:02 My son's seven.
07:02 My daughter's four.
07:05 Serj, my youngest daughter, is two.
07:08 One day, I look forward to being--
07:11 to really be able to talk about everything
07:14 and to say the things I want to say.
07:17 Again, there is--
07:20 I think there's a time and a place for that.
07:23 And I look forward to that in the future.
07:25 I really do.
07:26 I want to ask you this.
07:28 Almost congratulations, pivoting 10 years,
07:31 almost 10 years with Lauren.
07:33 That's an amazing thing, April 2014, all the way to now,
07:39 at the end of 2023.
07:40 So almost, happy 10-year anniversary.
07:43 Thank you.
07:44 What is one thing that's been that key
07:45 to the glue and the success of this marriage?
07:50 We focus on-- we take time for each other.
07:56 And we spend a lot of time with our kids, with three kids.
08:00 It's been an adjustment.
08:02 And it's beautiful.
08:03 We love it.
08:04 But taking the time to do those things
08:09 and creating the space for that.
08:12 Yes, it's clear that you love your wife.
08:14 And it's clear that Nick loves the kids.
08:16 Speaking of the kids, Nick, you're
08:17 part of a new digital music compilation titled
08:20 Christmas for the Kids, 22 holiday music tracks.
08:24 And they're benefiting the patients of Cure
08:26 for the Kids Foundation.
08:27 Why did you want to be involved in this project?
08:28 Cure for the Kids, basically, is a foundation out here.
08:31 It's a hospital or a facility that if parents and families
08:37 have a child who's suffering from cancer,
08:40 they will-- in Nevada and also the surrounding states,
08:44 they will help bring you in and take care of it completely.
08:49 You don't have to cover it.
08:51 And so this year, what we did is recorded the John Lennon song,
08:57 "The War is Over" or "Happy Christmas."
09:00 I think it was really special, too,
09:01 because when a child does finally beat cancer,
09:05 the song "The War is Over."
09:07 And that's what was beautiful about the song.
09:09 So I'm happy to be a part of it.
09:11 Amen.
09:11 My final question for you, Dad.
09:13 Let's keep it on that.
09:14 I know in 2021, we saw Lauren speaking
09:18 about the struggles of some minor complications
09:20 surrounding the birth of Pearl.
09:21 And now look at her, boom, ba-da, boom, boom, boom, boom.
09:24 Playing the drums?
09:25 I say, he got a little musician on his hands.
09:28 I want to know, how special is it as a father who
09:30 is an artist, an icon, to see your daughter pick up
09:34 those drumsticks and take after the daddy's
09:36 artistic abilities and talent?
09:39 Seeing Pearl, because we had--
09:41 Pearl was born right during COVID.
09:45 And there was so many things that we just
09:48 weren't prepared for with the NICU
09:50 and all these other things.
09:52 And her having lung issues.
09:54 And now seeing her the way she is, she's just a spitfire.
09:59 And I'm just so happy and proud that she's in our world.
10:03 (upbeat music)
10:05 you