Aaron Carter says his recent stint in rehab has influenced his new music.
“I’m feeling very healthy and am so passionate about my music right now and continue to write new songs drawn from these life experiences,” Carter told Page Six on Thursday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“Aaron is doing great and is so appreciative of the support of all his fans,” his rep added. “His new single ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ has received critical acclaim and his first new album in 15 years will be released on Sony/Red next month.”
Carter recently completed a two-month stint in rehab after he was arrested for a DUI in July and testing positive for benzodiazepines and opiates on an episode of The Doctors. He left rehab after two weeks for a short time in October to attend to “several legal and personal matters” but returned later that month to finish his treatment.
During his time in rehab, the 30-year-old gained 45 pounds and said he felt “amazing.”
“I did detox and through that detox, I gained, like, two pounds every day,” Carter told Entertainment Tonight following his stay in a treatment center. “Twenty-eight percent of body weight I gained… I took a break, and figured out what was going on in my mind, and the things that were really festering up and bothering me. I’m still figuring those things out.”
Since then, Carter has been opening up to multiple news outlets, telling Us Weekly that he thought he would “die by 30” and was “so scared” when he dropped to the same weight as Michael Jackson at the time of his death that he would die, too.
“There were times when I would get so scared,” Carter admitted of his battles with an eating disorder and prescription drug abuse. “I would stress out because of all the stuff going on inside of me, and then I’d lose all this weight, and then I get in a bad relationship. Then that shit would stress me out, and then I would be emaciated — 115 pounds. I couldn’t believe it.”
But Carter says he’s determined to overcome his demons.
“Michael died at 115 pounds. It was heartbreaking,” Carter said of his friend, who died from a combination of drugs in his body. “I love Michael, but that’s not going to be me. Look at me. Look at my transformation, in months… My health is very important. Health is very important for everybody, and I was so scared.”
Carter’s comeback, he said, is focused on new music for his fans. He released a new single, “Don’t Say Goodbye,” on his 30th birthday in December and will release his upcoming album titled LøVë in February.