KEY WEST, Fla. -- Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has been arrested in Florida after a fight outside a bar.

Carter, 35, made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon and was released from the Monroe County jail several hours later on $1,500 bail. He faces a misdemeanour battery charge.

According to a Key West Police report, Carter was intoxicated when officers arrived Wednesday evening at the Hog's Breath Saloon.

The report says a bartender refused to serve Carter and Michael Rae Papayans of Palos Verdes Estates, California, who became agitated and aggressive. The bar's staff repeatedly told both men to leave.

According to the report, once outside, Papayans head-butted one employee and Carter then grabbed a bouncer by the throat.

Papayans, 27, also was held on a misdemeanour battery charge. Jail records don't show whether either man has an attorney to comment on the case.