He’s a typical 5-year-old boy who would rather play video games than be bothered by his younger siblings, so when Odin Reign Carter paused to appreciate a cute gesture from 1-year-old sister Saoirse Reign Carter, it was a simple but standout moment for proud dad, Nick Carter.
“When Saoirse comes around, he’s usually like, ‘Get away! Back off!’ – that’s his personality,” the Backstreet Boys singer tells ET Canada. “But this morning, Saoirse grabbed the sippy cup I give him every morning and was like, ‘Odie! Odie!’ – because she can’t say his name – then brought the cup to Odin. He turns around and he’s like, ‘Oh, thank you Saoirse!’”
It’s witnessing the adorable interaction between his kids which Carter, 41, has relished while being a full-time dad through the pandemic. Now, as he prepares to mark his first Father’s Day with three children, he’s opening up about the challenges of reemerging from his family bubble back into music, having Saoirse inherit his musical DNA, finding alone time with wife Lauren Kitt and the terrifying moment their 8-week-old daughter Pearl’s health hung in the balance.
“It was very scary because we didn’t know what was going to happen – we came out of delivery and she was hooked up to all these machines to assist her breathing, so it was a lot of high stress,” Carter recalls of the April birth. “We didn’t know what the outcome would be [or if] there’d be long-lasting effects. You’re helpless.”
Suffering from respiratory distress, Pearl was placed on a ventilator and remained hospitalized for several nights before Carter nervously brought her home: “Lauren and I went through this traumatic experience in the hospital, then you’re putting this little baby into a carrier, delicately putting her into the vehicle and safely trying to drive home.”
“Saoirse and Odin had prepared a ‘Welcome Home’ banner and it was adorable,” Carter adds about the moment his family-of-five came together for the first time. “Saoirse was pointing at the baby going, ‘Daddy – baby!’”
“Odin and Saoirse are both very nurturing,” he continues. “Saoirse gives her a bottle and Odin does the same. Saoirse’s a strong little girl, so I’m like, ‘You gotta be gentle,’ because she tries to carry her like a doll.”
Clearly a daddy’s girl, Saoirse has inherited Carter’s “music bug.”
“She was just playing guitar. I’m trying to teach her,” Carter shares, adding that Odin’s more into science and insects and was uninterested when he tried to teach him guitar. “Music’s the one thing that keeps [Saoirse] in one place if I’m trying to cook. I’m like, ‘That reminds me of myself!’”
As for what music Saoirse loves, Carter notes he doesn’t crank Backstreet Boys around the house and now consumes more children’s channels and YouTube videos than pop radio, adding he currently has Minneapolis duo Koo Koo Kanga Roo’s songs about mask-wearing and pooping in his head. “You name it, they sing about it!”
With so much child’s play, Carter’s conscious of finding time for himself and his marriage. A day before chatting with ET Canada, he and Lauren, 38, enjoyed a lunch date, but he admits they kept checking their watches, conscious of getting back to the kids.
“With a bigger family, it’s not easy,” Carter says. “It’s not necessarily about the work that goes into it, but delegating time and sharing energy between your children because every single one needs attention and needs to feel special. That drains a [parent,] so you have to find time for yourself. We’re getting to a point where the synergy’s starting to work and we’re finding the balance.”
Carter’s now getting his head around readjusting to work mode after spending the past year enjoying full-time parenthood. It started with reuniting with the Backstreet Boys in Los Angeles to record the band’s upcoming Christmas record. “It’s going to be a very nice holiday season, with music and festivities,” Carter teases.
He’s now LA-bound again for a hotly-anticipated collaboration, which will see Carter and bandmate AJ McLean come together with *NSYNC’s Lance Bass and Joey Fatone for Friday’s Bingo Under the Stars at The Grove. Celebrating Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community, the rooftop game night and concert will see Jeffery Bowman (aka Bingo Boy) host 10 games of bingo before the pop stars hit the stage to perform both band’s songs together.
And, the “Dead 7” star confirms he already knows every lyric to *NSYNC’s hits! “How can you not?”
The Grove will grant a special gift to The Trevor Project (an organization helping LGBTQ+ youth) on behalf of the musicians’ involvement with cryptocurrency project Mission Tsuki. Proceeds from the event will also benefit LA Pride.
Carter hopes uniting with musicians who have frequently been labelled rivals will highlight unity.
“Bringing the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC together is an example of how we can come together,” he says. “If we can come together, society can come together! Coming out of the darkest time in our history, what better way than to lead by example – lead with love, acceptance and understanding.”
Carter adds that the evening, which will conclude with an afterparty at Bass’ bar Rocco’s WeHo, is a “taste of what could possibly come in the future.” Whether or not that means further Backstreet Boys/*NSYNC concerts, Carter will continue collaborating with Bass. “We’re working on this business venture with MissionTsuki.com,” he says. “We want to create this entire universe based off this token and meme dog named Tsuki – cartoons, clothing, video games.”
And, while Carter’s solo music took to the back burner because he was conscious of “not overexerting myself,” through the pandemic, he has selected his next single and is scheduling a music video shoot, with plans to release the video as an NFT and donate profits to charity.
Together with Lauren, Carter’s also getting back into regular workouts, laughing that he turned up to his Backstreet Boys reunion, “about 20 pounds overweight.”
“Will Smith did that thing about getting a ‘Dad Bod’ during the pandemic and I feel the same,” he says. “I’m actually nervous to jump on stage [because] I’ve put on pounds and I’m not fully in Backstreet/boy band shape.”
“I’ve gotten comfortable being at home,” he continues. “I’m using [Pearl] to stay in shape. I always have her on my chest and walk around. I’ll take my Apple Watch and fill out my rings by walking around the house – with an extra 15 pounds on me!”
