Allison Montroy
amontroy@mustangdaily.net
The blond, spunky little heartthrob of the ’90s is coming to San Luis Obispo.
Aaron Carter, perhaps best known for his 2000 hit single “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It),” has been somewhat off the radar since his 2009 stint on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” — until tonight, when he will take the stage at SLO Brewing Co. for his “After Party Tour.”
English junior Adina Miller started listening to Carter when she was 9 years old. Carter’s CDs spun nonstop on repeat until she was about 11, she said, and he was also her first-ever concert on her 10th birthday.
“Oh my God, I had posters of him all over my wall,” Miller said. “He was my first celebrity crush.”
Miller, who will be attending the concert, said she is going “more for the nostalgia than the concert itself.”
“I’m going to be reliving my childhood,” she said. “It’s going to bring us back to the schoolyard.”
Tickets for the concert had been on sale since January, but sold out about three weeks ago, Boo Boo Records employee J.T. De La Torre said.
“It actually sold out a lot faster than I expected,” De La Torre said. “But the nostalgia factor is pretty huge. It is like 100 percent young females, too — mostly high school seniors and Cal Poly students. The oldest I’ve seen buying tickets is about 25.”
De La Torre said people tended to laugh when asking for Aaron Carter tickets at Boo Boo Records.
“They were usually pretty shy when they said what concert the tickets were for,” De La Torre said. “They seemed like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe what I’m buying tickets for.’”
While concert-goers also had the option of purchasing VIP meet-and-greet tickets, Miller said she “didn’t think it was worth it.”
“Meeting him, I probably wouldn’t freak out as much as if I were a kid,” she said. “I’m not as huge of a fan now as I used to be.”
Miller said she didn’t know any of Carter’s new music, “so hearing that will be interesting.”
She prefers the sounds of Carter’s classic hits, such as “Aaron’s Party” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq.”
“The music videos were the best,” Miller said.
English junior Shari Goldman agreed with Miller.
“‘Aaron’s Party’ was the pump-up song for us when we were younger,” Goldman said. “It’s the song we all played when we were excited.”
Goldman said she also hopes Carter plays all of his early-2000 hits.
“I have no idea what his new music is like, I haven’t heard it at all,” Goldman said. “If it’s like his old stuff, it’ll probably be good though.”
Either way, both Goldman and Miller will be living out the dreams of their pre-teen selves.
“We’re all just super excited because he was everyone’s first celebrity crush,” Goldman said. “How could you not go?”
So, people all around, come get it! Aaron C.’s in the house Monday at 7:30 p.m.