Aaron Carter was in the house last night— don’t get it twisted.
Although there was a low turnout for his show at The Fillmore, making “The After Party Tour” a more intimate experience on Oct. 20.
The age gap ranged from early twenties to mid fifties. Regardless, everyone was reminiscing when Carter popped on stage and opened with “I Want Candy.”
And in that moment, all of the women on the floor turned into the pubescent girls who fell in love with him when they were in elementary school.
“I’ve been playing this song for 18 years now, but it never gets old,” Carter said as a transition into “Not Too Young, Not Too Old.”
The now 25-year-old looked exactly the same as he did when he was a kid, only more mature in a physical sense. It was evident this man embraced his youth with his “The Lion King” muscle tee and camo pants.
It was hard not to be starstruck, especially when Carter leaned over the edge of the stage, towering a few mere inches above and making direct eye contact with his screaming fans.
He even humorously joked with the few guys in the audience, winking back at an eager Haydn Higgins, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences.
“I thought that he was going to be washed up and gross…He was still cute and seemed like he was happy to be there,” said Julia Reinstein, a junior in the School of Communication, who attended the show.
When Carter sang the line, “To all the girls from here across the sea/ I wanna thank you for being good to me,” it actually sounded like he genuinely meant it. For the entire hour that Carter performed, he was all smiles, and so were his fans.
Carter proved he wasn’t just a singer— he is a talented entertainer. The former triple threat was a real showman as he busted all the moves, jumping all over the stage as he danced, and even broke out some back flips. Carter was the whole package, and he totally delivered.
The highlight of the night was when Carter re-appeared wearing an original Shaquille O’Neal Lakers jersey. “They don’t even print these anymore,” he laughed before singing “That’s How I Beat Shaq.”
Accompanied by a full band that has been traveling with him for the past 12 years, Carter’s sound was more than mainstream Top 40 pop. In fact, he really tapped into those ‘90s R&B vibes, something that everyone in attendance was all too familiar with. But he’s not ashamed of where he got his start and respected his fans in that regard.
His greatest hits aside, Carter also banged out some covers, including an incredible “Blurred Lines”/”Treasure”/”Get Lucky” mash-up that nearly sent the crowd over the edge, giving them another reason to hysterically freak out. At one point, he belted out the chorus of “I Want It That Way,” a brief tribute to The Backstreet Boys and his brother, Nick Carter.
Carter closed with “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” and a new song that he recently recorded. His set was about 10 songs long, but it consisted of everything that anyone could have wanted and more. Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this, and no fan left the venue disappointed.
“The After Party Tour” wasn’t just Aaron Carter’s long-awaited comeback— it brought back a piece of childhood that no one ever wanted to forget. The performance was legendary, marking Aaron Carter’s place as another successfully revived icon from the new millenium period. It was the realest unreal experience, if that makes any sense.
No matter how hard we all fight it, the tween inside will never die. What a time to be alive.
