Leslie Barbara Ashton (néeCarter; June 6, 1986 – January 31, 2012) was an American pop singer. In 2001, she debuted through DreamWorks Records with the single "Like Wow!". Originally set to release her debut album through the label, it was later canceled. From 2006 to 2009, Carter was a member of the band she founded, The Other Half.
Personal life and family
Leslie Carter was born in Tampa, Florida, the third of five children of Jane Eleonora Schneck (1958–) [2] (née Spaulding, previously Carter) and the late Robert Carter (1952–2017).[3][4][5][6] She was born at the Garden Villa Retirement Home, where the Carter family were living and working at the time.[5] She was the older sister of singer Aaron Carter[7] (1987–2022) and his twin sister Angel Conrad (née Carter)[8] and the younger sister of Bobbie Jean Carter (1982–2023) and Nick Carter (1980–). She also had an older half-sister named Ginger (1972–2023) and a younger half-brother named Kaden.[9][10] On September 12, 2008, Leslie Carter married Mike Ashton and moved to Toronto, Ontario, where she gave birth to a daughter in 2011.[11]
Leslie Carter experienced depression and mental illness.[12] Prior to her death Leslie was planning to go to rehab for her addiction with help from Aaron.[13] In 2019, her widower, Mike Ashton, was granted a restraining order against her brother Aaron. Later, Aaron claimed his sister raped him for three years, from the ages of 10 to 13.[14]
Career
Early recordings
Carter signed a record deal with DreamWorks Records in 1999 and began recording her debut album. This album was set for release in June 2000, but it was delayed because DreamWorks wanted to test Carter's fan base before releasing the album in order to ensure its success. Her single "Like Wow!" appeared on the Shreksoundtrack[15] and received minor radio airplay, peaking at No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] Her debut album Like Wow! was set for release on April 10, 2001.[17] However, DreamWorks later canceled the release. The cancellation followed a number of reported problems from the set of her debut music video.[18] Promo copies later became available online, and "Metal Mike" Saunders of The Village Voice described it as "the best bubblegum album of the entire '97–Y2K era."[18] The album also included a cover of "They Don't Know" by Kirsty MacColl.[19]
The Other Half
Carter started a small club tour in Canada in December 2005, and had a showcase in New York City on January 19, 2006, with hopes it would lead to a new record deal. The songs performed on this tour had her abandoning her bubblegum pop roots for a more mature, pop rock-oriented sound. Carter co-wrote her material with High Holy Days guitarist Dave Thompson. In late 2006, Carter founded the band The Other Half, which included her backup musicians Mike Ashton, DJ Porter, Jose Batista, Casey Clowater, Paul Davidson, Daniel Resanovic and Dave Thompson. The final line-up consisted of Carter (vocals), Ashton (drums), Jason Eldon (electric guitar), and Sean Smit (bass guitar and back-up vocals). In September 2009, the band mutually decided to split up.
Carter was seen writing music and performing her own songs for her siblings on the family's reality show House of Carters.
Death
On January 31, 2012, at age 25, Carter, who had complained of feeling ill after falling in the shower,[20] was found unresponsive at the home of Robert and her stepmother Ginger Elrod Carter, in Mayville, New York while she was visiting them.[21] Leslie had fallen asleep after she fell in the shower and did not wake up.[22] Leslie Carter was pronounced dead on arrival at Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, New York.[23]
While not attributing a cause of death, a Chautauqua County, New York, police incident report and supplemental "Overdose Follow Up" report said Carter had an overdose and was taking the prescription medications olanzapine (Zyprexa), cyclobenzaprine (a muscle relaxant) and alprazolam (Xanax).[21][24] A decade later, Leslie's younger brother Aaron also died of a multiple drug overdose involving Xanax.[25] Leslie's daughter was 10 months old at the time of her mother's death.[26] Her funeral took place at Freay Funeral Home in Mayville, New York.[27] Nick Carter did not attend the funeral; according to Nick, he stayed away because his family blamed him for Leslie's death and wanted him to be absent from the funeral.[28] Leslie Carter is buried in Chautauqua Cemetery in Chautauqua, New York.
^ ab"Bio". AaronCarter.com (official site) site. Archived from the original on June 22, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2012. Aaron Charles Carter—namesake of his Grampa (Charles) Douglas Spaulding. Leslie was born in Florida, at the Garden Villa Retirement Home, where the Carter family lived and worked at the time.
^ abMetal Mike Saunders (November 19, 2002). "Tween-Pop Suppressed!". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2012. Weirdly, the deer-in-the-headlights crossroads weekend of Leslie Carter's stillborn stardom was documented extensively in a February 2001 Esquire feature article about former hardcore-porn director ... turned rock-video maven ... Gregory Dark. The site to watch Greg work at, bizarrely enough, was Leslie Carter's first video shoot. All heck had broken loose (between the video production company reps, label A&R reps, the singer's handlers, and the video director in charge himself) when Leslie showed up with 'issues' (namely, she was real-life chunky à la latter-day Nick Carter...). After a grueling day of endless takes nearing the eight hours permitted by child labor laws, a cautionary tale of why 14-year-olds maybe shouldn't be aspiring pop stars doing a $350K video shoot unraveled....
