Aaron Carter's friends honor late singer with new single 'Grateful' to remember how he appreciated life

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Aaron Carter, who died in November 2022, sang about appreciating the important things in life months before he died drowning in his bathtub at his home after he was left incapacitated following the intake of a mix of drugs.

“Sunshine through my window, but it’s been a minute since I felt like this/Been a long week but I’m good though, every single breath is feeling like a gift,” the late singer sang for 'Grateful', an unreleased track co-written by his close friend Bryan Cassidy.

Aaron Carter's friends set to release his posthumous single 'Grateful'

Uplifting the spirit of Carter, Cassidy and the late singer's former manager and producer Morgan Matthews, are ready to share this final piece of his musical journey with the world.

“This [song] reminds me of the Aaron that I know. He just sounds so good on it. This is a positive way to remember Aaron," Cassidy told People and Matthews added, "He’d be so proud."

Additional vocals recorded by Cassidy after Carter's tragic death are also featured in 'Grateful', according to People.

Bryan Cassidy opens up on emotional challenges faced while recording 'Grateful'

Cassidy and Matthews shared that the release of 'Grateful' is a way to remember Carter who struggled with substance abuse and mental health before his death.

"It was hard for me to hear the song and record it. I couldn’t record it. I would lose it, I would start crying every time,” said Cassidy.

“I still kind of am [recovering]. Sometimes I’ll go in my messages and read what he sent me. And you go through that and you realize a good one died young. It just sucks," he added.

Cassidy and Carter who met through a mutual friend around 2012 worked on dozens of tracks together over the years.

Remembering Carter, Cassidy described him as someone who was "a child at heart." Cassidy further talked about Carter's disturbing videos on Instagram that featured himself inhaling compressed gas from canisters of air and being surrounded by guns.

“We were trying to get him an intervention. I remember I had to stop watching his lives for the last couple months because this really wasn’t Aaron," said Cassidy.

"It made me cry because I was like… it’s not the Aaron I remember," he added.

Recounting Carter's onstage moments, Matthews praised the late singer's talent as he said, "When he went on the stage, boom. It was like he was the entertainer."

"I’d be driving him to the concert and he’d be tired and stuff and then I’d say, ‘Are you ready to go onstage?’ It didn’t look like he was but then all those people were out there screaming. He would go out there on the stage and he would turn into a different guy. He’d turn into Aaron Carter. I was like, ‘Oh my God, look at this guy!’” he added.