As usual, the Grammy Awards over the weekend had an in memoriam segment to honor the artists who died over the past year. The segment included live performances and a photo montage that paid tribute to Takeoff, Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, and others. One notable exclusion: Aaron Carter. Aaron died suddenly on November 5 and was found in his home. He was not included in the televised tribute, but did appear on the longer list on the Recording Academy’s website.
Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony offered one of the most touching in memoriam segments in the event’s history. Quavo honored his close friend, bandmate and nephew, Takeoff. The Migos rapper gave his first performance of “Without You,” the emotional song Quavo wrote after Takeoff was shot and killed on Nov. 1. Kacey Musgraves paid homage to Loretta Lynn by performing “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” while Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt honored Christine McVie with a rendition of “Songbird.”
Along the way, images of late artists like Coolio, David Crosby and Jeff Beck also scrolled by.
However, there was one multiplatinum artist who was noticeably missing: Aaron Carter, who died on Nov. 5 at age 34. And fans were not pleased.
The Recording Academy did acknowledge Carter on a much longer list on its website that honors members of the music community who have died in the last year.
Aaron found success as a solo artist on the heels of his older brother Nick Carter’s fame with the Backstreet Boys. His biggest and best-selling album, Aaron’s Party (Come Get It), was released in 2000 and sold more than 3 million copies. In 2018, he dropped the album Love, his first in more than 15 years.
Carter was found dead at his home in the Los Angeles area. A cause of death has not yet been determined as the coroner awaits more tests. He struggled with addiction in recent years.
This is sad and it sucks to be left out, but it’s not really possible for these awards shows to include all the notable people in their respective industries who died in the past year in these segments. It’s often a struggle for them find a balance with honoring departed industry folks who were not famous, like producers and the like. Someone is always excluded or overlooked and fans are always upset about it. I’m not sure what the solution is, but I don’t think it’s to stop having these tributes all together. I do feel bad for Aaron and his fans in general though. It seems a bit like he was written off as a wayward child star and his death was also overshadowed by Takeoff’s shooting death just days earlier. It’s sad for Aaron, his family, friends, and fans. I’m glad he was on the website list and wasn’t overlooked completely.
And to bring the In Memoriam segment to a close, Mick Fleetwood accompanied Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt for a moving cover of ‘Songbird,’ originally written by his late Fleetwood Mac bandmember, Christine McVie #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/93bw7XpQU8
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 6, 2023
Aaron’s brother and sister, Nick and Angel. Angel is his twin.
photos credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com, Getty and via Instagram
I feel like this happens with every In Memoriam segment – that somone was “left out” and i’m not sure the best way to fix it. I feel like it would make the segment too long to include every one who passed in a given year, but that also seems like a very cold mentality (“sorry, he didn’t make the list because too many people died this year, we have time constraints you know!” Like that’s not a real response, right?)
Didnt the Oscars leave out someone fairly notable as well? Aaron Carter feels like a big one to miss, and you have to think it was intentional if he’s on the list on their website.
Is the list really that long ,that to show a split second image for all departed artists, producers and notable industry figures is impossible?It is usually a 3-5 mins tribute I find it hard to believe that they can’t fit even a hundred images in that space.
Agreed. It looks like the grammys really gave a lot of time to individual names/pics when we’ve seen the Oscars show multiple faces/names simultaneously. They could have grouped some people and made the time
I think so consideration should be given to impact, even if not Grammy recognized. Aaron Carter was quite well known amongst a certain age bracket, even if he didn’t register to grammy folks.
A genuine oversight or did they decide he wasn’t going to be included?
I read some comments (I don’t think here but maybe on FB) that the tribute segment spent too much time focusing on John Legend’s performance instead of the images of the departed.
I know with this Oscars I always find the In Memory thing awkward because people applaud and there’s noticable differences in the amount of applause some of the deceased get versus others.
I HATE that at the Oscars – the applause (I don’t watch that many other awards shows to know if others do it as well.) It’s so awkward when someone gets a ton of applause and someone else barely gets any.
Yes it happens in every award’ show’s Dead People Popularity Contest Segment.
Agree with Noki, it doesn’t take that long to put this together to show everyone. I don’t blame his fans for being upset. With everything that keeps coming out about him I feel so sad and bad for him. May he rest in peace.
He was such a sad kid.
I agree. I don’t think he ever really had a chance for a normal life. The Carter parents were dark, greedy people who basically sold their kids to the industry.
I for real thought that was a picture of Ashton Kutcher
Ok hear me out, no disrespect to Aaron and his family, but weren’t all of his hit albums back when he was want, 14 or 15 years old? And I don’t think he got his record contracts because of some immense talent on his part, he was the cute little brother of a Backstreet Boy that a record producer was able to monetize. Aaron was not able to make that translate into a career with new hit music as an adult, and in fact, his adulthood was increasingly characterized by notoriety from a series of apparent drug-addled escapades and even crimes. At his young death, probably none of the demographic who made up his fan base have risen to positions of power in the music industry, nor have his fans reached the age when they are nostalgically mourning the teeny boppers of their youth with rose colored glasses. It’s the same reason that the Oscars In Memoriam segment did not feature people like Gary Coleman or Corey Haim after they died, even though their performances as child actors were acclaimed and they were both arguably beloved by a youthful fan base in their day.
Agree with Chaine. He has his one hit from being a little brother to a backstreet boy. He was troubled and did not have the talent or drive to keep up a career that was literally handed to him. It’s sad he passed so young but he really wasn’t an artist.
I don’t know if this is right or not. But aren’t the Grammys like the Oscars. They are an organization that you pay a yearly fee to be a part of? You can be an actor and not be part of the academy. Can you be a singer and not be part of the grammys? Maybe this is why some people are shown and other not. Maybe Aaron quit paying his dues and wasn’t a member any more.
Holy shit. I had no idea he had died. Wtf. How awful.
Look I was a fan of Aaron when I was like 12, but let’s be honest – he never did anything that notable to warrant a reaction at the grammys. It’s actually astonishing that his death even warranted the attention that it did.
Of course he should have been included.
+1