Aaron Carter’s posthumous anthem Grateful released over a year after pop singer tragically drowned in bathtub while under the influence
Aaron Carter’s soft voice can be heard again with the release of his posthumous single Grateful.
The late pop star – who died in November 2022 at the age of 34 – features in the uplifting anthem, which was co-written by his close friend Bryan Cassidy and posted online on Friday.
“The sun is shining through my window, but it’s been a minute since I felt this way/It’s been a long week, but I’m doing well, every breath feels like a gift,” Aaron says.
According to Bryan, the former child star was recording the song at his home studio in California a few months before his tragic death.
“This (song) reminds me of the Aaron I know,” Bryan shared People. ‘He just sounds so good on it. This is a positive way to remember Aaron.”
Aaron Carter’s soft voice can be heard again with the release of his posthumous single Grateful; pictured 2017
The late pop star – who died in November 2022 at the age of 34 – features in the uplifting anthem, which was co-written by his close friend Bryan Cassidy and posted online on Friday.
Carter’s former manager and producer Morgan Matthews added: “He would be so proud.”
Bryan said the song offers a meaningful way to remember Aaron, especially given the challenges he struggled with in his later years, including substance abuse and mental health issues.
‘It was difficult for me to hear and record the song. I couldn’t record it. I would lose it, I would start crying every time,” he explained to the outlet.
‘And when you experience that, you realize that a good boy has died. It just sucks.”
In April 2023, Aaron’s autopsy revealed that he drowned in his bathtub after consuming Xanax and gasping before his death at his home in Lancaster, California.
Carter’s autopsy results revealed that he had consumed alprazolam, 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 “gasping.”
Carter was “incapacitated while in the tub due to the effects” of the drugs, officials said.
Authorities say in the report that the entertainer “slipped underwater” under the influence of the substances and drowned.
According to Bryan, the former child star was at his home studio in California recording the song just a few months before his tragic death
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 and fiancée Melanie Martin, lived a life overshadowed by the struggle with substance abuse, marked by numerous arrests and stints in rehabilitation.
His battle with addiction intensified after the tragic death of his sister Leslie in 2012, who succumbed to a prescription drug overdose at the age of 25.
The blows continued to come for Aaron with the loss of his father, Robert Carter, to an apparent heart attack in 2017.
During his time in rehab following the death of his father, medical professionals diagnosed Aaron with multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia, shedding light on the complex challenges he faced.