Who Is Nick Carter Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 21?
One of the worst-kept casting secrets of Dancing With the Stars Season 21 revolved around Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter. There had been a lot of buzz about Carter doing this fall season leading up to the official announcement, and fans are excited to see him hit the dance floor. Nick is dancing with Sharna Burgess this season, and those who aren’t big boy band fans may find themselves wanting to know a bit more about this contestant. What’s the scoop?
Though Nick Carter has been in the entertainment industry for a while now, he is probably most known from his Backstreet Boys days. As Biography details, Carter joined the band when he was just 12-years-old. The band is still making hearts swoon, as they are together again and making new music. Fellow group members include Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, and Howie Dorough.
The Backstreet Boys formed in 1993, and they became a sensation in 1996 when their first album went big. Littrell and Richardson are cousins, and the group all came together when Lou Pearlman held auditions to form a vocal group. Pearlman wanted to mimic the feel and success of New Kids on the Block and, before landing himself in a lot of legal hot water, he went on to add bands like NSYNC, O-Town, and LFO to his empire.
Carter is originally from New York and he was the youngest Backstreet Boys group member. During his wilder years, he dated Paris Hilton and struggled with addiction. However, Nick has really cleaned things up in the past few years and, as People shared, he married actress and fitness expert Lauren Kitt in April, 2014.
Over the years, this DWTS contestant has starred on the reality show The Carters with his family, worked on some solo music projects, had a couple of directing and writing projects, and incorporated some advocacy work. Nick is a powerboat racer and surfer in his free time, and he is someone who is passionate about protecting the oceans.
While Carter has things fairly well pulled together these days, he’s been open about many past struggles. This new Dancing With the Stars contestant battled cocaine and alcohol addictions, and took sobriety seriously after a 2008 diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. His family has gone through its fair share of drama over the years, and fans were definitely used to seeing them in the headlines for a while.
While some will surely look to Carter’s Backstreet Boys dance experience as an advantage in this fall season of DWTS, he’s quick to say he doesn’t consider himself a great dancer. As he teased via People, he says he’s always hid behind his fellow bandmates, and he’s used to doing one particular dance style in an ensemble setting.
It turns out that Sharna Burgess was a big fan of Nick Carter’s as she was growing up, and she admitted that she had his poster up on her bedroom walls. Sharna has done plenty of fangirling over her new partner, but Dancing With the Stars fans know she can be a tough teacher, and she’s not going to go easy on Nick as the competition gets fierce.
Nick says that he talked with former contestant and NSYNC band member Joey Fatone before signing up for Season 21 of Dancing With the Stars, and his younger brother, Aaron, gave some insight, since he’s done the show, as well. Joey did well in his outing, but it sounds as if Nick is aiming to beat both Fatone’s and Aaron’s finishes.
Could Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess take home the Season 21 Dancing With the Stars mirrorball trophy? Fans are hopeful, but with other buzzworthy contestants in the mix, like Alek Skarlatos, Paula Deen, and Bindi Irwin, DWTS fans will have to be sure they get every possible vote cast each week.
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images]
