Aaron Carter excluded from Grammys' in memoriam segment, fans react: 'That was cold'

Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony offered one of the most touching in memoriam segments in the event's history. Quavo honored his close friend, bandmate and nephew, Takeoff. The Migos rapper gave his first performance of "Without You," the emotional song Quavo wrote after Takeoff was shot and killed on Nov. 1. Kacey Musgraves paid homage to Loretta Lynn by performing "Coal Miner's Daughter," while Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt honored Christine McVie with a rendition of "Songbird."

Along the way, images of late artists like Coolio, David Crosby and Jeff Beck also scrolled by.

However, there was one multiplatinum artist who was noticeably missing: Aaron Carter, who died on Nov. 5 at age 34. And fans were not pleased.

The Recording Academy did acknowledge Carter on a much longer list on its website that honors members of the music community who have died in the last year.

Aaron found success as a solo artist on the heels of his older brother Nick Carter's fame with the Backstreet Boys. His biggest and best-selling album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It), was released in 2000 and sold more than 3 million copies. In 2018, he dropped the album Love, his first in more than 15 years.

Carter was found dead at his home in the Los Angeles area. A cause of death has not yet been determined as the coroner awaits more tests. He struggled with addiction in recent years.

Nick Carter has yet to publicly address his brother's exclusion, but Aaron's on-again, off-again fiancée, Melanie Martin, seemingly reacted. Although she didn't address the Grammys directly, Martin posted a tribute of her own on her Instagram story on Sunday night, shortly after the segment aired. She and Carter share one young son.

Some on social media were upset because they believed the Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins, who died in March 2022, had not been honored — but he was in fact celebrated during last year's telecast.