Nick Carter Honors Late Brother Aaron Carter In New Single ‘Hurts to Love You’: ‘We’ve Been Through Some Wars Together’
“Always hope your tomorrows would be better than the days before,” Nick Carter emotionally sings in “Hurts to Love You,” a new song penned following the death of his younger brother, Aaron Carter.
The powerful track was written as a tribute to the late musician, who was found dead at in his California home at the age of 34 on November 5. The song’s harrowing lyrics honor the brothers’ troubled but deep bond.
“Feel like we’ve been through some wars together, nobody else could understand,” Nick sings in the first verse. “Way too many nightmares to remember, but that was real life back then.”
“Always hoped your tomorrow would be better than the days before,” the Backstreet Boys singer continues. “I hoped you’d find your road to follow, to a place you were happy in this world.”
After almost 30 years in music, the 42-year-old singer’s voice sounds tinged with a new level of sadness as he channels his grief into the chorus, sharing his deep heartache, pain and how much he misses Aaron.
“Cause it hurts to love you, but I love you still. Miss you with all my heart, you know I always will,” he sings. “And always prayed for peace somehow your soul could feel. You know it hurts to love you, but I love you still.”
The song’s accompanied by a music video, which is expected to drop late Wednesday. Nick shared snippets of the video, featuring footage of him and Aaron, on social media ahead of its release.
“We all have someone in our lives who no matter what they do and how bad it hurts, you still love them,” he tweeted. “So I worked it out the best way I know how. #HurtsToLoveYou. https://ncarter.lnk.to/HurtsToLoveYou.”
While the brothers had a difficult relationship in recent years, Nick and his wife Lauren had attempted to get Aaron the help he needed and Nick maintained that he still loved Aaron despite their relationship hurdles.
Nick was in London on the Backstreet Boys’ DNA World Tour when he learned of Aaron’s passing, but mustered the courage to go on with the show to honor his brother. He and bandmates Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean and Brian Littrell, dedicated their sweet DNA album song “No Place” to “our little brother Aaron Carter” during one of several tearjerking moments throughout the concert.
Nick later shared his grief on social media, alongside photos of him and Aaron when they were younger. “My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” he wrote.
However, it’s Nick’s latest tribute to Aaron, “Hurts to Love You,” which many fans are finding tugs at their heartstrings the most.
“Listening to it and I’m an absolute mess,” said one fan. “It’s just such a beautiful and powerful song. I truly wish Aaron could hear it and know how much he was truly loved by Nick.”
“It’s so beautiful — one verse in and I’m all teary,” added another longtime fan. “The lyrics are so simple, but hit the nerve. They’re not overly poetic, which makes it feel straight from the heart.”
Nick will perform “Hurts to Love You” for the first time at Songs for Tomorrow, a benefit concert hosted by his sister, Aaron’s twin Angel Carter, and the family’s close friend, *NSYNC’s Lance Bass, on January 18.
Taking place at Lance’s West Hollywood club, Heart WeHo, the show will also feature performances from O-Town, LFO’s Brad Fischetti and Ryan Cabrera, who all previously toured with Aaron on the Pop 2000 Tour. B. Howard will also perform and Nick’s bandmates AJ and Kevin are rumored to attend.
Angel organized the event in the hopes of honoring Aaron, while also generating conversation and awareness of the mental health struggles which plagued him throughout his life. All proceeds from the event will go to On Our Sleeves, an organization working towards improving children’s mental health.
Nick previously talked to ET Canada about working with On Our Sleeves to help raise awareness of mental health issues, and in his Instagram post following Aaron’s death, he reiterated how destructive mental illness can be.
“I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed,” he wrote. “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.”
- Tickets for Songs for Tomorrow are available here and fans who can’t attend can purchase live stream access here. See the lyrics to Hurts to Love You below.
Feel like we’ve been through some wars together
Nobody else could understand
Way too many nightmares to remember
But that was real life back then
Always hope your tomorrow
Would be better than the days before
I hoped you’d find your road to follow
To a place you were happy in this world
Cause it hurts to love you but I love you still
Miss you with all my heart, you know I always will
And always prayed for peace somehow your soul could feel
You know it hurts to love you but I love you still
Hurts to love you
It’s hard to let go of the anger
I know for me it took some time
Sometimes the darkness lasts forever
Feels like the light will never shine
Always hope your tomorrows
Would be better than the days before
I hoped you’d find your road to follow
To a place you were happy in this world
Cause it hurts to love you but I love you still
Miss you with all my heart, you know I always will
And always prayed for peace somehow your soul could feel
You know it hurts to love you but I love you still
Cause it hurts to love you but I love you still
Miss you with all my heart, you know I always will
I’d always prayed for peace somehow your soul could feel
You know it hurts to love you but I love you still
Hurts to love you
