Aaron Carter talks After Party Tour, comeback to music

Aaron Carter is bringing the party to Bloomington at 9 p.m. for a sold-out performance at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Carter said this tour, the After Party Tour, is his first after being on hiatus from pop music to try his hand at the off-Broadway musical, “The Fantasticks.”

“It’s been eight years since I toured,” Carter said. “It’s been really tough to get people to believe in me again, but I’ve done over 400 performances in a Broadway production, and a booking agent noticed I’ve done so many performances and grown through those performances, so he said, ‘I’m booking you for a tour.’”

Bloomington is a stop on the tour due in large part to the efforts of IU junior Brett Bassock, founder of SimplyLive Entertainment.

Bassock has worked in concert promotion since high school, when he helped create a battle of the bands event.

From there, he said he “fell in love” with the industry and began interning with various companies to get his foot in the door.

“I interned when I was 18 with Atlantic Records,” Bassock said. “I lived in L.A. and worked in L.A., and I think I really found my niche.”

Bassock took a break from promoting during his first couple years in Bloomington, but earlier this year, he said he wanted to promote again.

He and his friends, Bassock said, had an agenda to do something college students are really looking for.

“We wanted to do something nostalgic, so we thought about big ’90s bands and performers, and Aaron Carter came up,” Bassock said. “Aaron Carter really is from our generation, so we started working on a show.”

Carter said he is no longer the 12-year-old boy who originally performed his greatest hits, but he still plays them because it’s what his fans love.

“I am always going to perform my old songs — that’s what people know me for,” Carter said. “I want to reconnect with everybody first, rebuild my fan base, then release new music.

“If I just went straight to releasing new music, then they’re going to expect me to release an album like I’m 12, and I’m not 12 anymore.”

Carter said the unfortunate part of being a child star is that he feels he has something to prove as an adult, but he said his years off from touring can help him break back into the industry.

“Honestly, I think some people just come to make fun of me, and they see it’s a real show,” Carter said. “I just try to prove them wrong. I’ve been performing for 18 years, so I’m a real performer.

“They think I’m an amateur, but having live musicians and doing off-Broadway helped me develop my craft and become a much better singer.”

Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twiiter @janicakaneshiro.