Nickolas Gene Carter (born January 28, 1980) is a American actor, musician, and pop singer. He is a member of the music group The Backstreet Boys.
Biography

Nick Carter was born in Jamestown, New York.[1] His father is Robert Gene Carter of Jewish ancestry,[citation needed] and his mother is Jane Elizabeth Spaulding, a Mayflower descendant of Welsh, Irish, German, English and Native American ancestry.[citation needed] His siblings include Angel, Leslie, Bobbie Jean (nickname: BJ), and singer Aaron. He also has an older half-sister named Ginger from his father's first marriage, a stepsister named Taelyn and a half-brother, Kanden, from his father's new wife.

Several years later, the family moved to Tampa, Florida and managed a retirement home where they added his younger siblings to their family.[2] Carter began auditioning for acting roles in the early 1990s, and appeared in many commercials. He later made a tiny background appearance in Edward Scissorhands (1990). It is said that in several auditions, Nick met AJ McLean and Howie Dorough and they became friends.

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Backstreet Boys

Later, the three friends formed a mini-vocal group and started seeking a manager. As they found him, Lou Pearlman, he thought it most appropriate to seek for a fourth member. This was the chance for Kevin Richardson, who brought his cousin Brian with him. At the beginning, there was no success in the United States, even though the first single had been a hit on Orlando radio stations. Lou then marketed the Backstreet Boys in Europe, where they became commercially successful in 1996. To date, Carter has helped the group sell over 100 million albums.[citation needed]

The Backstreet Boys became hugely popular in Europe and the United States in the late 1990s, and Carter gained fame, becoming known as the "heartthrob" of the group. He is the youngest, joining the group at twelve years old. On tour, he played drums and guitar in addition to singing. Carter had become a prominent lead singer in the group, though all five members sing lead on each album.[citation needed]

In 1999, he was ranked #1 on the list of "Hottest Teen People Under 21" by Teen People magazine and was named "The Biggest Teen Idol" by Teen People magazine. He was also named one of People magazines "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 2000, and voted CosmoGirl's Sexiest Man in the World" in 2002. Carter's fame also helped to launch the successful career of his brother Aaron.[citation needed]

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Now Or Never

Carter attempted a career as a solo artist in 2002, when he released Now Or Never. The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and was certified gold. That same year, Carter was named "The Sexiest Man in the World" in a CosmoGirl Magazine poll conducted by its readers. Carter has also returned to his acting career. He appeared opposite Kevin Zegers in the 2004 horror film, The Hollow, made two appearances on the TV show "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter", and also appeared on "American Dreams".

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Never Gone/House of Carters/Fast Glass

Carter then went back on tour with the Backstreet Boys, who were promoting the album Never Gone which debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. "Never Gone" helped the group break the 100 million mark for albums sold worldwide. In fall 2005, they toured Europe.

Carter and his siblings starred in a reality television show, House of Carters, which premiered in October 2006 on E!. The series features all five Carter siblings reuniting to live in the same house, as well as feature in-depth moments of their ups and downs.[3] The first season of HoC had 8 episodes, and Carter has since said the show will not seek another season.

Carter is currently (May 2007) filming independent movie Fast Glass with Brandon Quinn, Andrew Keegan, Natalia Cigliuti, Greg Grunberg, and Reno Wilson. The movie is directed by Kim Bass and produced by Dave Riggs and Desiree Jellerette.[4] It's slated for release in 2008.

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Charity

Nick Carter was announced as the new Special Ambassador for the Year of the Dolphin (YoD) on May 17, 2007. He will record a new song and video with all proceeds going to this project, he will also make a public service announcement and appear at local schools. [5]

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Second solo album

Nick Carter began work on his second solo album in 2003, but the recordings were aborted when the Backstreet Boys returned to the studio. One of the tracks from the earlier recording sessions was used as the theme song to the House of Carters. "Let It Go" was written by Nick Carter, Matthew Gerrard, and Bridget Louise Benenate.[6]

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Personal life

Carter has dated and been linked with many famous women in the entertainment industry, including Willa Ford, Asun Ortega, Izabelle Filling, Angie Taylor, Paris Hilton, Dalene Kurtis, Kaya Jones,a former Pussycat Doll, and Ashlee Simpson. His relationship with Hilton ended in July 2004 and he then chose to cover up his Paris tattoo with a skull and crossbones, and added "Old Habits Die Hard" beneath it.

On June 12, 2007, Kathy Griffin discussed her date with Nick Carter on Tyra. She jokingly alleged that he was illiterate and they showed him not being able to read the menu. However, he has been photographed reading books like The Da Vinci Code, and notes James Redfield's classic bestseller "The Celestine Prophecy" as one of his favorites.[7]

On September 29, 2006, Carter claimed on The Howard Stern Show that he lost his virginity to Debra Lafave when they were classmates.[8]

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Discography
See also: Backstreet Boys discography

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Albums
2002: Now Or Never - #17 US (Gold), #9 ITA
2002: BEFORE The Backstreet Boys 1989-1993

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Singles
"Help Me" (2002)
"Do I Have to Cry for You" (2002)
"I Got You" (2003) #74 Austria, #87 Germany

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Bonus, b-sides, non-album tracks 2002-2003
Don't Walk Away
End Of Forever
Forever Rebel
Love To Love (Backstreet Boys)
Not Like You
Payback
Rockstar Baby
Scandalicious
Shout
There For Me feat. Melissa Schuman

Izvor:wikipedia