Aaron Carter was convinced he'd be dead before he reached his 30th birthday.

The singer celebrated his landmark birthday earlier this month (Dec17) after a tough period in his personal life, which began with the sudden death of his father Bob in May and also saw him arrested for marijuana possession. On top of that, he split from his girlfriend Madison Parker and checked into rehab.

But in a new interview with Us Weekly, Aaron, who rose to fame at the age of nine, admitted he was concerned about his future even before his recent troubles.

“I thought I would die by 30,” he sighed. “Even when I was 13, 14, I thought, ‘Oh, my God. I’m going to die.’

“Life, it was pretty tough. I dealt with a lot of trauma, a lot of loss, a lot of loneliness. I just felt like I needed to get away."

Adding he felt "burnt" after everything that happened, Aaron explained how his goal is to be "the phoenix that rises from the ashes".

“I’m shocked. It’s time to act like a frickin’ adult. I have new aspirations,” he continued. “All of those require my attention for music, and I’m telling you, I love (being) in the studio. It’s the safest place for my and very therapeutic.”

Aaron now channels his thoughts and feelings into his work, and compares himself to popstar Taylor Swift, who is known for sharing her personal experiences through songs.

He adds that he mostly produces music when he's feeling down, as he finds it helps to "rest" his mind.

"That’s how all these songs came about," the star, who recently released new single Don’t Say Goodbye, said. "They’re about ex-girlfriends that didn’t work out. I wrote songs about them while I was with them, trying to get them to understand what they were doing to me.”