Avicii, top electronic dance music artist, found dead at 28

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The DJ will be remembered for club hits like Levels, Wake Me Up and Hey Brother

Swedish DJ Avicii, one of the world's biggest dance music stars, has died in Oman at the age of 28.

Avicii's club anthems include Wake Me Up, Levels, and recently, Lonely Together with Rita Ora.

His representative said in a statement: "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii.

"The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time."

No cause of death was announced, and Avicii's representative said no further statements would be issued.

Image copyright Muscat Hills Resort Image caption One of the last pictures of Avicii (centre), at a tourist resort near Muscat

The electronic dance music (EDM) star, who reportedly made $250,000 (£180,000) a night on tour, had struggled with some health issues in the past, having his gall bladder and appendix removed in 2014.

He announced his retirement from touring in 2016, partly because of the health problems.

"I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist," he said at the time.

Who was Avicii?

One of the biggest names in dance music of the last 10 years, he had a catalogue full of pumping, uplifting, house smashes

He started his career when he won a production competition held by Pete Tong in 2008

He went on to notch up 11 billion streams on Spotify and was the first EDM DJ to stage a worldwide arena tour

He was nominated for two Grammy Awards and had nine UK top 10 singles, including two number ones

He suffered from health problems including acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking

He later announced a return to the studio, and released a new self-titled EP in 2017.

The EP, Avĩci (01), was nominated for a Billboard music award for top electronic album just days before his death.

As well as working with the likes of Aloe Blacc and Rita Ora, Avicii collaborated with artists including Madonna and Coldplay.

Former Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules, who often performed alongside him, said his biggest achievement was being the first electronic dance star to break America.

"He was the first huge commercial star," Judge Jules told the BBC. "He really became someone who couldn't go out on the street, he was so heavily recognised."

Other leading electronic artists wrote tributes to Bergling after the news of his death.

Skip Twitter post by @CalvinHarris Devastating news about Avicii, a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do. My heart goes out to his family. God bless you Tim x — Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) April 20, 2018 Report

Skip Twitter post by @deadmau5 my sincerest and most heartfelt condolences to the friends, fans and families of @Avicii :( Banter aside, nobody can deny what he has accomplished and done for modern dance music and im very proud of him. — Goat lord (@deadmau5) April 20, 2018 Report

Singer Dua Lipa tweeted: "Such sad news to hear about Avicii passing. Too young and way too soon. My condolences go out to his family, friends and fans."

US band Imagine Dragons tweeted: "Working with him was one of my favourite collaborative moments. Far too young. The world was a happier and fuller place with his presence and art."

"No words can describe the sadness I'm feeling right now, hearing about Avicii passing away," offered DJ Zedd, while singer Adam Lambert, who collaborated on the track Lay Me Down, called him "a brilliant composer and a gentle spirit."

An enchanting artist

Analysis by Mark Savage, BBC Music reporter

At Avicii's last ever show in August 2016, one crazed fan climbed a 100ft-high (30m) scaffolding tower, just to get a better view.

That's not something that happens that often during a DJ set (who needs to see the stage anyway?) but it was a testament to Avicii's ability to enchant an audience.

Confetti cannons and bass drops aside, his shows encapsulated the inclusive, everyone-welcome philosophy that led him to collaborate with Coldplay, Nile Rodgers and Antony Hegarty as well as bluegrass and metal musicians in the studio.

That final show, at Ushuaia Ibiza, was a two-hour greatest hits set, featuring crowd pleasers like Levels and Wake Me Up alongside his remixes of Robyn and Dizzee Rascal.

But the DJ, who famously let the cat out of the bag when he revealed most major DJs pre-programmed their sets (comments he later walked back), was also known for dropping unexpected, whimsical tracks into his performances. A bit of Smokey Robinson here; a dash of Chicago there.

He approached it all with an energy and optimism that permeated his own recordings. It's no surprise he was one of the most beloved DJs on the circuit.

Avicii in his own words

To Billboard Magazine in 2016: "When I look back on my life, I think: whoa, did I do that? It was the best time of my life in a sense. It came with a price - a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety for me - but it was the best journey of my life"

Post-retirement on his website: "[Creating music], that is what I live for, what I feel I was born to do... The next stage will be all about my love of making music to you guys. It is the beginning of something new."

Prelude to music video for hit The Nights: "When I was 16, my father said, 'You can do anything you want with your life, you just have to be willing to work hard to get it.' That's when I decided when I die, I want to be remembered for the life I live, not the money I make."

Are you an Avicii fan? Did you meet him or go to one of his gigs? Tell us about it by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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Swedish DJ Avicii has died in Muscat, Oman, at the age of 28.

His representative said in a statement: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii. He was found dead in Muscat, Oman, this Friday afternoon local time, 20 April.

“The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”

DJ Calvin Harris tweeted: “Devastating news about Avicii, a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do. My heart goes out to his family. God bless you Tim x.”

In an Instagram post, Diplo called him “a real groundbreaker and influencer to all your peers” while Deadmau5 tweeted: “nobody can deny what he has accomplished and done for modern dance music and im very proud of him.”

In 2016, Avicii retired from live performing due to health reasons, having suffered from acute pancreatitis owing, in part, to excessive drinking. In 2014, his gallbladder and appendix had been removed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Avicii performs at the Summerburst music festival at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Photograph: Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/AFP/Getty Images

A documentary about the DJ’s career, Avicii: True Stories, was released last autumn, chronicling his final world tour and his health struggles. It features peers such as the DJs Tiesto and David Guetta, as well as musicians Chris Martin and Nile Rodgers. “Everybody knows Avicii but very few people know Tim,” said director Levan Tsikurishvili. “I think this documentary really shows Tim’s struggle and strength of character.”

Avicii last released new music in 2017, with his six-track EP Avīci (01). The album was nominated for a Billboard music award in the category of top dance/electronic album. In his most recent tweet, sent out on 17 April, Avicii thanked Billboard for the nomination.

He was best known for hit songs Wake Me Up and Levels, both of which reached No 1 on the Billboard list of top dance club songs. Twice-nominated for a Grammy award for best dance recording, Avicii’s debut album True, released in 2013, madethe top 10 in 10 different countries.

The DJ, who was born in Stockholm, was regularly ranked in the top five of Forbes’ list of highest-paid DJs before his retirement. In 2012, he became the first electronic musician to headline New York’s esteemed Radio City Music Hall.

In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Avicii reflected on his decision to stop touring, explaining how multiple hospitalizations and life on the road began to take their toll. “None of us today can fucking handle our emotions – most of us are running around being reactive,” he said.

“That’s why I had to stop touring, because I couldn’t read my emotions the right way. The whole thing was about success for the sake of success. I wasn’t getting any happiness anymore.”

Artist, DJ, and producer Tim Bergling, a.k.a. Avicii, died Friday afternoon in Oman, according to a statement from his rep. He was 28.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” the statement reads. “He was found dead in Muscat, Oman this Friday afternoon local time, April 20th. The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”

One of the most popular and successful electronic dance-music artists of all time — he scored a No. 4 hit on the Billboard 200 in 2013 with “Wake Me Up” regularly appeared in the Top 5 of Forbes’ “Highest-Paid DJs” lists — he retired from live performing in 2016 at the peak of his success, citing health reasons. He had suffered from health problems for several years, including acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. He had his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014.

He posted the following statement on his website last year:

“WE ALL REACH A POINT IN OUR LIVES AND CAREERS WHERE WE UNDERSTAND WHAT MATTERS THE MOST TO US.

For me it’s creating music. That is what I live for, what I feel I was born to do.

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Last year I quit performing live, and many of you thought that was it. But the end of live never meant the end of Avicii or my music. Instead, I went back to the place where it all made sense – the studio.

The next stage will be all about my love of making music to you guys. It is the beginning of something new.

Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.”

Bergling was born in Stockholm on Sept. 8, 1989. He began DJing as a teenager and released his first single in 2007. He released a large number of singles and remixes in the following years and rapidly built a reputation as a live act. He broke through with his 2010 hit “Seek Bromance,” which charted in several European countries; he signed a publishing deal with EMI the same year. He explained his chosen DJ name as “the lowest level of Buddhist hell,” chosen because his real name was already being used by another Tim Bergling on MySpace.

His 2011 single “Levels,” which was later nominated for a Grammy Award, vaulted him into the mainstream, charting in multiple European countries and topping the chart in his native Sweden. “Sunshine,” his 2012 collaboration with David Guetta, was nominated for a Grammy for best dance recording. In September of that year, he became the first DJ to headline New York’s prestigious Radio City Music Hall; at those two shows, he previewed a new song with Mike Posner titled “Stay with You.”

His proper debut album, “True,” was released on September 2013, much of which was previewed during his headlining set at the Ultra Music Festival earlier that year. The album featured “Wake Me Up,” a collaboration with Aloe Blacc, which topped the charts in multiple countries across the world and was No. 1 for a record 14 weeks on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart; it was also the U.K.’s fastest-selling single of 2013. Other singers on the album included Adam Lambert and Audra Mae. He also worked with Madonna during this period and contributed to two songs on her 2015 album “Rebel Heart,” although both parties seemed unhappy with the collaboration and Avicii said the final versions were quite different from his demos.

The extent of his popularity was reflected in a 2014 “Saturday Night Live” digital short called “When Will the Bass Drop?,” with comic Andy Samberg playing a fictional mega-DJ named “Davvincii” (although he was made up to look more like David Guetta).

However, as his popularity rose, his health declined. He was hospitalized in March 2014 and cancelled several tour appearances; not long after, he collaborated with Carlos Santana and Wyclef on the official FIFA World Cut Anthem “We Will Find a Way.” Also that year, he produced a song on Coldplay’s album “Ghost Stories.” He released his second full-length album, “Stories,” in October 2015.

In March of 2016, he performed at the Ultra Music Festival, premiering new material, but 10 days later announced that he was retiring from performing. He made a final live appearance in August in Ibiza. In December, he parted ways with longtime manager Ash Pournouri.

In August of 2017 he released a six-track EP entitled “Avici,” which he said was the first of three installments that would be his next album. He followed a month later with a full-length documentary called “True Stories,” which was largely about his retirement. In it, promoters are seen trying to convince him to continue touring, even though he’s in obvious physical pain. “I looked at myself like, ‘F—, you should’ve really stood up for yourself more there. Come on, Tim!,'” he said of the documentary to Rolling Stone in an interview published last September. “Why didn’t I stop the ship earlier?”

“I needed to figure out my life,” he continued. “The whole thing was about success for the sake of success. I wasn’t getting any happiness anymore. Now that I have more time in the studio, I want to learn as much about other genres as possible. That’s what I love the most – having a session with Nile Rodgers, for instance, and getting an understanding of music that’s invaluable.”

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