Nick Carter Releases Emotional Tribute Song to Late Brother Aaron Carter: Listen to ‘Hurts to Love You’

Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter released an emotional tribute to his late brother Aaron Carter, “Hurts to Love You,” on Wednesday (Jan. 11). The ballad was accompanied by a video featuring footage of the siblings as children, and a message from Nick on Instagram.

“We all have someone in our lives that no matter what they do and how bad it hurts you still love them,” he wrote. “So I worked it out the best way I know how.”

Aaron, who struggled with substance and mental health issues, died unexpectedly in November at age 34.

“Feel like we’ve been through some wars together/ Nobody else could understand/ Way too many nightmares to remember,” Carter sings over a spare, heartbeat-like beat. “Always hoped 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,” he adds before the heartbreaking chorus, “Cuz it hurts to love you, but I love you still/ Miss you with all my heart you know I always will.”

Singer and TV personality Aaron Carter was found dead on Nov. 5. While no cause of death has yet been revealed, a spokesperson for the LAPD said at the time that a “suspicious death” had taken place at the address of Carter’s residence.

Following his younger brother’s death, Nick shared a number of photos featuring Aaron from their childhood. “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 at the time. “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. 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.”

Listen to “Hurts to Love You” and see Nick’s post below.