Nick Carter (musician)

Nick Carter
Background information
Birth name Nickolas Gene Carter
Born January 28, 1980 (1980-01-28) (age 31)
Origin Jamestown, New York, U.S.
Genres Pop, Dance-pop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actor, dancer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit
Years active 1993–present
Labels Sony BMG/Jive Records
Website NickCarter.net

Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter (born January 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, entertainer and actor. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists of the pop group, Backstreet Boys. He went on to release a solo album during their hiatus. He has also made occasional television appearances and starred in his own reality show, House of Carters. He is also the older brother of singer Aaron Carter.

Contents

Early life

Carter was born in Jamestown, New York,[1] the son of Jane E.(née Spaulding) and Robert Gene Carter. His siblings include B.J. Carter, Angel, Leslie and Aaron. He also has an older half-sister named Ginger from his father's first marriage, a younger half-broth Kaden, and a younger stepsister, Taelyn, by his new wife.

Several years later, the family moved to Apollo Beach, Florida and managed a retirement home where they added his younger siblings to their family.[2] Carter began auditioning for acting roles in the early 1990s, and appeared in many commercials. He later made a tiny background appearance in Edward Scissorhands as a kid playing on a slip and slide.

Career

Early years

Nick covered a number of songs made popular by other artists in the late 1980s. These songs included "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "Uptown Girl" and "Hard to Get". Some of these early recordings were released in 2002 on the CD titled Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993 by Dyenamic Discs, Inc. It is said that through several auditions, Nick met AJ McLean and Howie Dorough and they became friends. Nick in High school had curtained hair which was very popular during the 90's.

Backstreet Boys

The three friends started seeking a manager when they met Lou Pearlman. Pearlman held a casting call during which hundreds of performers started participating. Finally, A.J. Mclean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson and Carter himself were selected. They decided to name the band Backstreet Boys after Orlando's Backstreet flea market. They were then booked to perform at many venues such as high schools and shopping malls and eventually managed to sign a contract with Jive Records. The boys slowly became popular in European countries, starting with Germany. They embarked on a tour in support of their debult album. The album slowly climbed up to the top ten slots in most countries and was on its way to sell more than 8 million copies. They started recording their second studio album, Backstreet's Back. As Backstreet's Back was being released in Europe, they released their first album in the United States which was a compilation of both their international debut and Backstreet's Back. The album climbed up to #4 on the Billboard 200 and would eventually sell over 14 million shipments. Meanwhile, Backstreet's Back became an even bigger success than their debut opening at the number one spot in many countries. In 1997, they filed a lawsuit against Pearlman and Trans Continental and continued touring in 1998. They started Recording Millennium in 1999 and released it in June. It became one of the biggest selling albums of all time taking the number one place in many countries. Their first single from Millennium's follow up album, Black & Blue, Shape Of My Heart was released to radio on October 3. Black and Blue recorded first week sales of 1.59 million copies in the US making the Backstreet Boys the first artists to back to back million-plus sales of albums. After releasing their greatest hits album they went on hiatus and regrouped in 2003. They released their next album, Never Gone in 2005. While it was negatively reviewed by critics it enjoyed a lot of commercial success. They released their next album, Unbreakable in 2007. They started the tour for their most recent album, This Is Us, in 2009 which has continued into 2010. All in all, they have become one of the biggest selling artists of all time with record sales exceeding 100 million copies.

Solo career

Carter attempted a career as a solo artist in 2002, when he released Now Or Never. The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and was certified gold, both in the United States and Canada. The lead single, Help Me achieved considerable worldwide success while the other single, I Got You was a minor hit in Europe. The album made the charts in many countries as well. He also launched a worldwide tour in support of the album. He was named Cosmogirl Magazine's 'sexiest man in the world' in 2002, beating out rival pop star Justin Timberlake for the title.

Nick began work on his second solo album in 2003, but the recordings were aborted when the Backstreet Boys returned to the studio. One of the tracks from the earlier recording sessions was used as the theme song to the House of Carters in 2006. "Let It Go" was written by Nick Carter, Matthew Gerrard, and Bridget Louise Benenate.[3]

Carter recorded a duet with pop singer Jennifer Paige called "Beautiful Lie" in 2009. In 2010, Nick Carter started recording new songs for his second solo album. He is currently working with Rami, Carl Falk, OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, Josh Hoge, Claude Kelly, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and many others. Carl Falk said the album is going to be released before the end of the year. Carter has made a deal in Japan and Germany which would receive the album first. He is expected to choose the first single soon.

Acting career

Carter and his siblings starred in a reality television show, House of Carters, which premiered on October 2, 2006 on E!. The series features all five Carter siblings reuniting to live in the same house, as well as feature in-depth moments of their ups and downs.[4] The first season of HoC had 8 episodes, and Carter has since said the show will not seek another season.

He appeared opposite Kevin Zegers in the 2004 horror film, The Hollow, made two appearances on the TV show "8 Simple Rules", and also appeared on "American Dreams". In 2007 Carter filmed the independent movie Fast Glass with Brandon Quinn, Andrew Keegan, Natalia Cigliuti, Greg Grunberg, and Reno Wilson.[5] It was originally scheduled for release in 2008, but now it appears to be languishing in development hell.

Personal life

Health Problems

Carter has acknowledged ongoing struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism. He says that he got sober after being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and realized that he could die if he did not make major lifestyle changes.[6] The singer credits a healthy lifestyle with helping turn his life around.

"Working out definitely helped my self esteem, and it definitely made it easier for me to kind of push it aside," he says. "I just started replacing drinking and the parties...with healthier things like sports, video games."[7]

Charity

Nick Carter was announced as the new Special Ambassador for the Year of the Dolphin (YoD) on May 17, 2007. He was to record a new song and video with all proceeds going to this project, and also make a public service announcement and appear at local schools.[8] Nick has passion of the environment and its oceans. He has worked with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). He also has lobbied for these causes at Capitol Hill.[9]

Discography

Albums

Year Album details Chart positions Certifications
US
[10]
AUT
[11]
GER
[12]
NL
[13]
SWE
[14]
SWI
[15]
UK
[16]
2002 Now Or Never
  • Released: October 28, 2002
  • Label: Jive
17 66 25 41 41 85 91
Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993
  • Released: October 1, 2002
  • Label: Dyenamic Discs

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US
Pop
[19]
AUS
[20]
AUT
[11]
BEL
[21]
CAN
[19]
GER
[22]
IRE
[23]
NL
[13]
NZ
[24]
SWE
[14]
SWI
[15]
UK
[25]
2002 "Help Me" 36 30 26 38 9 18 44 24 48 20 33 17 Now or Never
"Do I Have to Cry for You"
2003 "I Got You" 74 41 57 71 58 91
Other charted songs
2009 "Beautiful Lie"
(with Jennifer Paige)
49 19[26] Best Kept Secret (Deluxe Edition)

Bonus, b-sides, non-album tracks 2002-2010

TV & Movies

References

  1. Netter, Matt (January 1999). Backstreet Boys * Aaron Carter. New York: Pocket Books. p. 38. ISBN 0-671-03539-8. 
  2. Netter, Matt (January 1999). Backstreet Boys * Aaron Carter. New York: Pocket Books. p. 8. ISBN 0-671-03539-8. 
  3. [1]
  4. "ShowBuzz". Nick And Aaron Carter Get Real. http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/12/tv_realty_tv/main1798485.shtml. Retrieved July 13, 2006. 
  5. Nick Carter Fast Glass
  6. Nick Carter: Alcohol and Drugs Almost Killed Me People.com, February 5, 2009
  7. http://www.usmagazine.com/news/nick-carter-opens-up-about-excessive-drug-alcohol-abuse
  8. Nick Carter charity work
  9. [2]
  10. "US Billboard and CAN > Chart history". billboard.com Retrieved 2010-05-10
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Austrian Charts > Chart history". austriancharts.at Retrieved 2010-05-10
  12. "[http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/CARTER%2CNICK/?type=longplay German Longplay Charts > Chart also nick has dated paris ilton and redated her after they split.history]". musicline.de Retrieved 2010-05-10
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Dutch Charts > Chart history". dutchcharts.nl Retrieved 2010-05-10
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Swedish Charts > Chart history". swedishcharts.com Retrieved 2010-05-10
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Swiss Charts > Chart history". hitparade.ch Retrieved 2010-05-10
  16. "UK Album and Single Charts and Awards > Chart history and Certifications list". zobbel.de Retrieved 2010-05-14
  17. RIAA - Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database, retrieved May 10, 2010.
  18. "Gold & Platinum Certification – November 2002". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/1102_g.php. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 
  19. 19.0 19.1 "AllMusic chats > Chart History". allmusic.com Retrieved 2010-05-11
  20. "Australian Charts > Chart history". australian-charts.com Retrieved 2010-05-10
  21. "Belgian Charts > Chart history". ultratop.be Retrieved 2010-05-10
  22. "German Charts > Chart history". musicline.de Retrieved 2010-05-10
  23. "Irish Charts > Chart history". irish-charts.com Retrieved 2010-05-18
  24. "New Zealand Chart > Chart history". charts.org.nz Retrieved 2010-05-10
  25. "UK Singles and Albums Chart > Chart history". chartstats.com Retrieved 2010-05-10
  26. "A Beautiful Lie with Jennifer Paige > German Singles Chart position". musicline.de 2010-05-10

External links