Nick Carter Breaks Down While Paying Tribute to Brother Aaron Carter During Backstreet Boys Concert

Emotions ran high as Backstreet Boys paid tribute to their bandmate Nick Carter’s younger brother Aaron Carter during their recent concert in London. Before performing “Breathe,” A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, and Howie Dorough held Carter as photos of his brother, who died Saturday at age 34, flashed across the screen in the O2 Arena.

“The next song is about family,” BSB’s Kevin Richardson told the audience. “We all grew up together. We’ve been through highs and lows, ups and downs, you guys have been through it with us. Tonight, we’ve got a little bit of heavy hearts because we lost one of our family members yesterday.”

“We just wanted to find a moment in our show to recognize him. Nick’s little brother, Aaron Carter, passed away yesterday,” Richardson continued. “He’s a part of our family, and we thank you guys for all your love, all your well wishes, and all your support.”

“We’d like to dedicate this next song to our little brother, Aaron Carter,” Littrell added.

Nick was comforted by his bandmates at numerous points throughout the night. Prior to the concert on Sunday, the singer shared a carousel of images with his younger brother on Instagram. “My heart has been broken today,” he captioned the photos. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.:

He added: “Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know.”

Aaron died Saturday at the age of 34. TMZ first reported that Carter was found unresponsive in his bathtub in his home in Lancaster, California.