Grammy viewers were left furious last night after late singer Aaron Carter was left out of the show’s in memoriam segment.
The award show kicked off the portion of the evening with rapper Quavo performing a tribute to his bandmate and nephew, Takeoff, with a performance of “Without You,” a song that he wrote after the rapper’s death. Next, Kacey Musgraves was welcomed to the stage to perform “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” paying homage to the late Loretta Lynn. Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Bonnie Raitt followed, all performing “Songbird” in honor of Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie.
Each performance was accompanied by a slideshow of portraits and names of performers who have passed over the last year.
Stephen “TWitch” Boss, Coolio and Olivia Newton-John were among those listed.
However, many fans noticed the glaring omission of three-time platinum artist Carter, best known for his teen pop albums Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) and Oh Aaron. The artist died Nov. 5, 2022 at age 34. His sixth and final studio album was released two days after his death.
“Well that was pretty disrespectful that the @RecordingAcad didn’t include Aaron Carter in the memoriam,” wrote one angry fan.
Another tweeted, “Really @RecordingAcad ??? HOW do you leave @aaroncarter out of the in memoriam??? He sold millions of albums, his life was music. I am stunned and saddened you didn’t include him.”
Some speculate that Carter was left out of the segment due to his previous controversies, which involved heavy drug use and perceived acts of violence.
Decider has reached out to reps at the Recording Academy and Grammys broadcaster CBS for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
While Carter was left out of last night’s show, his name is included on a list of “Music People We’ve Lost” published by the Recording Academy on the Grammys website. The list specifies that only some of the artists will be included in the video tribute, but states, “The Recording Academy salutes each individual for their respective talents and contributions to our culture and community.”
