Backstreet Boy Nick Carter arrested after drunken fight

Nick Carter appears in this police mugshot taken on January 13. Photo/AP

Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has been arrested after a drunken brawl - but that hasn't stopped him from taking a great police photo.

Carter, one of the founding members of the boy band, was jailed in Key West, Florida, on a charge of battery after he allegedly punched a bouncer at a bar, police have revealed.

Carter, 35, got into the altercation on Wednesday night after bartenders at the Hog's Breath Saloon refused to serve alcohol to him and a companion and asked them to leave because they appeared to be "heavily intoxicated", according to an arrest report.

Carter allegedly punched one of the bouncers and Michael Papayans of California head-butted the bar manager, the report said. Papayans, 27, also was charged with battery.

Police said a video of the altercation, plus physical evidence and witness statements, confirmed that Carter committed the battery.

Carter is due in court for a first appearance on Thursday afternoon, and bond will likely be set, said Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.

The pop singer rose to fame as a teenager in the mid-1990s as a member of the boy band, which formed in Florida in 1993.

The Backstreet Boys went on to sell more than 130 million albums worldwide and score hits including I Want It That Way and Shape of My Heart.

- RAW/AAP