American singer and rapper Aaron Carter has been found dead at his home in Southern California, aged 34.
Representatives for Carter’s family confirmed his death. They did not provide any immediate further comment.
Police responded to reports of a medical emergency at the home, but have provided no further details.
Aaron Carter was the younger brother of the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter.
He shot to fame in the late 90s, selling millions of copies of his four albums — the first of which was recorded when he was nine years old.
TMZ reported that Carter was found dead in the bath of his home in Lancaster, California.
Law enforcement sources reportedly said they received a call that a male had drowned in the tub.
Carter's fiancee, Melanie Martin, asked for privacy as the family grieved.
"We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality," Ms Martin said in a statement.
"Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated."
Homicide detectives had been dispatched to the scene, which is a standard operating procedure to investigate such death scenes.
Carter opened for the Backstreet Boys tour in 1997, the same year his gold-selling debut self-titled album was released.
He reached triple-platinum status with his sophomore album, 2000's Aaron's Party (Come Get It), which included the hit I Want Candy.
His videos received regular airplay on Disney and Nickelodeon.
Carter made his Broadway debut in 2001 as JoJo in Who in Seussical the Musical.
In the same year, he guest-starred in an episode of Lizzie McGuire and went on to record his third studio album, which included his first duet recording with his brother Nick.
He starred alongside his brother Nick and their siblings BJ, Leslie and Angel Carter on the E! unscripted series House of Carters in 2006.
In 2009, he appeared on the television series Dancing with the Stars, finishing in fifth place with partner Karina Smirnoff.
He was featured on the Food Network cooking show Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off in 2012.
Troubled family life
Carter's sister Leslie died aged 25 of a drug overdose in 2012.
In 2019 he publicly accused Leslie of sexual abuse saying that she abused him between the ages of 10 and 13, stating the abuse occurred when she failed to take her bipolar disorder medication.
Carter also accused his brother Nick of life-long abuse, though Nick's legal team denied the allegations.
In 2017, Carter opened up about his substance abuse on an episode of The Doctors.
He was in rehab that same year after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and marijuana charges.
Two years later Carter appeared on The Doctors again and revealed that he had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression.
"Why are you guys doing that to me? What did I ever do to deserve that?" he said as he broke down in tears explaining the impact that online bullying had on his life.
He checked himself in for treatment on several occasions in an effort to regain custody of his son Prince.
Carter's fifth and final studio album, LOVE, was released in 2018.
He is survived by his son Prince.
