Avicii was an avatar as much as he was a producer. Exploding on to the scene in 2011 with his unabashedly saccharine hit Levels, the Swedish musician born Tim Bergling represented, depending on where one stood, either the best or worst of dance music’s rise in the United States.
Avicii: Chart-topping EDM star dies aged 28 Read more
Just 21 years old at the time of his breakthrough, Bergling was perhaps an unlikely star. All cheekbones and platinum hair, he never seemed entirely comfortable in the spotlight. Friends and colleagues described him as shy and quiet, a sweet kid with the heart of a technician. In interviews, his responses could come off as canned or reticent, as reporters probed for answers from an artist seemingly more comfortable at his computer assembling tracks.
But his music was a different story. Avicii was one of the first EDM stars to arrive on the scene fully formed, and he hit just as dance music was for the first time gaining mainstream popularity in the US. Discovered on MySpace by veteran Dutch producer Laidback Luke, Bergling took his name from the Buddhist term for hell, avīci, and began pumping out an arsenal of hits that quickly defined a burgeoning genre. Tracks including Levels, Fade Into Darkness and Silhouettes were slick, massive, earnest and unapologetically pop-oriented. With them, Avicii paid homage to influences like Swedish House Mafia and Daft Punk while at the same time creating the tension build and release template still being replicated nearly a decade later.
These tracks became anthems for the millions of millennials gathering at massive festivals to partake in the relentlessly escapist electronic music scene of the late aughts. Avicii’s music was wildly popular among a generation coming of age in the post 9/11 era of perpetual war and economic uncertainty. While grunge and hip-hop had been the bluntly angry clarion calls for previous generations, EDM provided these kids with the spirit of celebration and unity that ran counter to headlines on the nightly news. EDM was collective catharsis, and Avicii was, for a time, the biggest artist delivering it. He was anti-politic, existing in a bubble of champagne and confetti bursts, and his music served as a sonic antidepressant for listeners around the world.
It was a dance dance revolution that didn’t sit well with many veteran scenesters who had been plugging away in the electronic music underground since the late 70s. Shiny, populist and capitalist to its core, EDM ran counter to the defining values held dear by many fringe-dwelling old school scenesters. The kids didn’t care. And neither did Avicii, who crisscrossed the globe headlining the world’s biggest dance music and mainstream pop festivals – Tomorrowland, Ultra Miami, EDC Las Vegas, Coachella and more – and signing on for massively lucrative Las Vegas residences just as the city was establishing itself as the United States’ EDM hub.
Through the guidance of his manager Ash Pournouri, a Svengali type with whom Avicii was deeply close, Avicii raised the pay grade for DJs throughout the scene, pushing into the mid six figures for festival and club sets. With his head floating on billboards along the interstate from Los Angeles to Vegas, he was literally the EDM poster boy.
Onstage, Bergling typically sported jeans, a T-shirt and a backwards baseball cap, with his right hand lifted and moving along to the music while he happily shuffled behind the decks. If he was uncomfortable in the media, the stage seemed to be a sweet spot. He once called attention the worst part of his job, saying, “I love what I do, but I’ve never liked being recognized or being in the spotlight.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Avicii performs during the Ultra Music Festival in 2012. Photograph: Jason Nevader/WireImage
His music earned him a pair of Grammy nominations, one for his work on David Guetta’s Sunshine and another in 2013 for Levels. In a 2013 interview, he told me these nominations were the proudest moments of his career. The freshness and crossover appeal of his sound also brought a line of superstars eager for EDM crossover plays to his door. He co-produced a track on Madonna’s 2015 LP Rebel Heart while Sky Full of Stars, a 2014 collaboration with Coldplay, was a worldwide radio hit.
His own biggest smash was 2013’s Wake Me Up, a folk music crossover that was booed by the audience at Ultra when Avicii debuted it at the festival in 2013. No matter. Featuring singer Aloe Blacc, the urgently uplifting track hit No 1 in more than 40 countries and presciently tapped into the market potential of mixing EDM and country, a template many artists have since recreated. The song appeared on his 2013 solo debut album True, which hit the top 10 in more than 15 countries.
But there were signs of wear and tear too. The tour schedule of the Avicii juggernaut was intense, with him hitting clubs and festivals on every continent except Antarctica and often playing two shows a night. Bergling cancelled his headlining set at Ultra 2014 in order to have emergency gallbladder and appendix surgery. (Deadmau5 stepped in to take his place.) A 2013 GQ profile captured the alcohol-soaked hedonism of his life as the boy king of EDM and found Bergling “subsisting on a diet of Red Bull, nicotine, and airport food”. (The article was widely slammed by Avicii fans, with Bergling himself calling it “truly unfair and incorrect”.) In 2014, the addiction rumors were substantiated when Avicii cancelled all of his scheduled concerts due to health problems.
Avicii – a life in pictures Read more
“In the beginning, I’d party a lot … every night was a party,” he told me in 2013. “But I just realized that for me personally, my body and mind couldn’t handle it any more.” He officially retired from performing live in 2016, at the age of 26.
Two years later and Avicii’s publicist has announced that Bergling was found dead on the Arabian peninsula, thousands of miles from his home in Stockholm. “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” Diana Baron said in a statement. “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.”
Mainstream popularity can often feel like ritual sacrifice, as we build people up only to stand captivated as they descend – into addiction, into turmoil, into avīci. Tim Bergling’s story has come to a tragic if not entirely unpredictable end, one at odds with the joy of the music he so expertly produced during his brief but influential moment at the top. It’s hard to mourn to a song like Levels that so adamantly denies the darkness. EDM is about joyful celebration in the face of conflict. Perhaps this was Bergling’s undoing. It is also his legacy.
Avicii's Health Struggles: A Timeline
Swedish DJ and producer Avicii was just 28 when he was found dead on Friday (April 20). He had long suffered from health issues, undergoing hospitalizations and forced set cancellations until he retired from touring in 2016.
His music will be his legacy, a life dedicated to spreading joy through major chords and uplifting rhythms that exponentially grew electronic dance music's popularity worldwide. He was an instrumental inspiration to many of today's brightest stars, and he struggled all the while.
Today, we take a closer look at his health history.
January 2012: Avicii Is Hospitalized in New York for 11 Days
Avicii's health issues began in January 2012, when the DJ and producer was hospitalized in New York City with acute pancreatitis, a side-effect of heavy drinking. He was in the hospital for 11 days.
March 2013: Avicii Is Urged to Remove His Gallbladder
About a year after his incident in New York City, Avicii was again sent to the hospital for similar issues while on tour in Australia. Doctors urged Avicii to undergo gallbladder removal surgery, but the producer declined, choosing instead to continue working on his debut LP True. The album was released in September of that year and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart for six weeks.
March 28, 2014: Avicii Is Hospitalized in Miami
Though the media reported that Avicii had stopped drinking, his issues flared seven days after he released a remix version of his LP True, featuring his own remixes of the album's tracks. Avicii was hospitalized in Miami for a blocked gallbladder and was forced to cancel scheduled performances at the SLS Hotel, which had undergone a complete Avicii takeover, and his headlining set at Ultra Music Festival. Alesso took his spot at SLS, while rival deadmau5 took his slot at Ultra. Avicii blamed the reaction on his nonstop tour schedule.
"My fans know that I have had issues in the past with my stomach and pancreatitis," he wrote on social media. "I woke up on Wednesday morning with serious pain but I flew to Miami anyway, hoping that it would go away. The pain was still there when I landed so I went straight to hospital. I was treated and left later that night. Unfortunately, the pain came back yesterday afternoon and I returned to the hospital where they admitted me to stay overnight."
In the hospital, he learned that not only had his pancreatitis returned, but his appendix has burst. He underwent surgery to have his appendix and gallbladder removed, though he returned to touring as soon as possible.
September 8, 2014: Avicii Cancels All Performances
Six months after his surgery, Avicii continued to suffer from lingering health issues and was forced to cancel all forthcoming performances, including his headlining slot at TomorrowWorld, Las Vegas residencies at XS and Encore Beach Club, and a scheduled Asian tour in October.
September 2, 2015: Avicii Postpones All Performances for the Year
In May 2015, he broke his musical silence with a new song and video called "Feeling Good," but four months later, he once again was forced to postpone all the year's remaining performances. Representatives cited the pressures of finalizing his sophomore album Stories, released a month later, and his directorial debut on music videos for "For a Better Day" and "Pure Grinding." His team also promised a larger tour to come.
“I look forward to keep being innovative with my team in leading a bigger change than just with my music," Avicii was quoted. "In moving my tour promotional responsibilities to next year, I have a great opportunity to focus on myself and spend time trying to grow up in a way I never got the chance to -- normal, or as normal as it could get. My team, label and family have encouraged me to do that and I realize not many in my position get that opportunity."
March 29, 2016: Avicii Announces His Plan to Retire From the Road
After a creative road trip with friends, during which he wrote many new songs that would appear on his 2017 EP Avīci (01), the producer and DJ announced that he planned to retire from touring indefinitely. The news was shocking in the wake of his triumphant return to Ultra Music Festival. He noted his struggles with life on the road, his introverted nature and desire to spend more time creating in the studio. He thanked his fans, family, peers, partners and longtime manger Arash "Ash" Pournouri for their support and promised a final tour as a farewell to fans.
"My choices and career have never been driven by material things, although I’m grateful for all the opportunities and comforts my success has availed me," he wrote. "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. I will however never let go of music -- I will continue to speak to my fans through it, but I’ve decided this 2016 run will be my last tour and last shows. Let’s make them go out with a bang!"
August 28, 2016: Avicii Plays His Last Show
He capped nearly a decade of touring with a final performance at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, thanking fans and friends on social media for their support in his decision. The final tour was depicted in the documentary Avicii: True Stories, released more than a year later in September 2017.
April 20, 2018: Avicii Is Found Dead
Avicii's team confirmed that the producer was found dead Friday morning (April 20) while in Muscat, Oman. The cause of death has yet to be reported. Despite his struggles, artists and fans remember him as an influential beacon of creativity and positivity.
Avicii's Biggest Billboard Hits
The late DJ scored 5 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 & 28 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
As the world mourns the death of electronic dance music pioneer Avicii (real name Tim Bergling), who died Friday (April 20) in Muscat, Oman, at age 28, Billboard looks back at the career of the Swedish DJ who launched 28 songs on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, including the mega-hit (and 26-week No. 1) “Wake Me Up!”
News of Avicii’s death circulated Friday afternoon after his publicist broke the news in a statement.
"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."
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1989, Avicii first broke onto Billboard’s charts in 2010 with his breakthrough hit “Seek Bromance,” under the pseudonym Tim/Berg. The track reached No. 4 on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and launched his career as a dance pioneer.
He eventually signed with Universal Music, where he would release his two studio albums, True in 2013 and Stories in 2015. While both hit No. 1 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart (True spent six weeks atop the tally), the former reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and the latter reached No. 17.
Avicii scored two additional entries on the Billboard 200: His remix album True (Avicii by Avicii) reached No. 139 in 2014 and his EP Avici (01) hit No. 70 in September and was recently nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album. His album catalog has earned 2.2 million total equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, and sold 424,000 in traditional album units.
Avicii scored 28 entries on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dating to the chart’s launch in 2013), 18 entries on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and five hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Only Calvin Harris (32) and David Guetta (30) have charted more songs on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. Further, he scored six No. 1 hits and 11 top 10s on the Dance Club Songs chart (which launched in 1976), among his 13 entries.
The DJ’s song catalog has raked in 1.7 billion total on-demand streams (audio and video combined) and sold 11.6 million digital copies, according to Nielsen Music.
In honor of the late DJ, here’s a look at Avicii’s biggest Billboard hits on the Hot Dance Electronic Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart:
Avicii’s Biggest Billboard Dance Hits
Rank, Title, Peak Position, Peak Date
1. “Wake Me Up!,” No. 1 (26 weeks), Sept. 21, 2013
2. “Hey Brother,” No. 1 (1 week), March 22, 2014
3. “Levels,” No. 2, Feb. 25, 2012
4. “Seek Bromance,” No. 4, March 26, 2011 (billed as Tim/Berg)
5. “Waiting For Love,” No. 7, Aug. 1, 2015
6. “The Days,” No. 8, Oct. 25, 2014
7. “Silhouettes,” No. 9, Sept. 29, 2012
8. “The Nights,” No. 10, Feb. 28, 2015
9. “I Could Be The One,” vs Nicky Romero, No. 10, Feb. 23, 2013
10. “Broken Arrows,” No. 10, Oct. 24, 2015
Of the five Avicii songs that made it to the all-genre Hot 100, “Wake Me Up!” was undoubtedly his biggest hit, peaking at No. 4 and finishing at No. 13 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 songs in 2013. "Wake Me Up!" held the record for most weeks at No.1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (with 26 weeks) until last summer, when The Chainsmokers' "Closer," featuring Halsey, held for 27 weeks at No. 1.
“Wake Me Up!” became a crossover hit at multiple radio formats, adding to its Hot 100 success. It was a four-week No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart (Oct. 26, 2013) and peaked at No. 12 on Alternative Songs (Oct. 26, 2013). The song also ruled Pop Songs for three weeks (Nov. 9, 2013) and Adult Pop Songs for four (Nov. 30, 2013).
The music video is the 39th most-viewed YouTube video in history, garnering 1.4 billion global views (as of midday April 20). The song sold 4.9 million downloads and earned 452 million total on-demand streams (audio and video combined).
Avicii also charted “Hey Brother” on the Hot 100 at No. 16, “Levels” at No. 60, “The Days” at No. 78 and “You Make Me” at No. 85.
Avicii’s Biggest Billboard Dance Hits recap is of the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts. The ranking is based on actual performance on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart through the inception of the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart on January 26, 2013, through the April 21, 2018, ranking. Songs and albums are ranked on peak position, with weeks in the top 10 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks earning proportionally less.
Image copyright Reuters
Artists have been paying tribute to Avicii, who has died suddenly in Oman.
It's not yet known how the Swedish DJ died, but two years ago he announced his retirement after suffering from health problems.
Rita Ora, who he recently collaborated with on the track Lonely Together, tweeted that she had "no words" after hearing the news.
Diplo posted that Avicii's music will "live forever", writing that he "set the precedent" for other producers.
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
Radio 1 presenter Annie Mac began her Friday evening show paying tribute to Avicii, saying it's a "massive loss for dance music" and that it was "absolutely devastating news".
Skip Twitter post by @RitaOra I have no words. I remember how amazing it was to make Lonely Together and it felt like just yesterday we were talking. Condolences to Avicii's family, friends, and the fans who supported him. May he rest in peace. Gone too soon. I’m devastated. Heartbroken. — Rita Ora (@RitaOra) April 20, 2018 Report
It's known that the 28-year-old has been suffering from pancreatitis, reportedly caused by heavy drinking.
He once said in an interview: "Drinking became routine for me, but it's impossible to keep up touring and drinking at the same time, because you are going to crash."
The electronic dance music (EDM) star reportedly made $250,000 (£180,000) a night on tour.
Image copyright Muscat Hills Resort Image caption One of the last pictures of Avicii (centre), at a tourist resort near Muscat
It was after Avicii's, real name Tim Bergling, 2011 hit Levels that he achieved worldwide acclaim.
During his career he notched up 11 billion streams on Spotify and was the first EDM DJ to stage a worldwide arena tour, as nominated for two Grammy Awards and had nine UK top 10 singles, including two number ones.
American musician Skrillex remixed that song and posted online that he was "a genius and an innovator, yet sensitive and humble".
Other artists posting messages online include Martin Garrix, Liam Payne, Madonna, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Deadmau5.
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
In 2016 Avicii announced he was retiring from touring, after health complications, but it's thought it's something he didn't really enjoy.
Nicky Romero, who collaborated with Avicii on I Could Be The One, said: "He was more of the musician in the studio than the guy that wants to be on stage, tour the world.
"I never really thought that he was super enjoying his DJ sets. It felt like he wanted to do it but he didn't want to feel the pressure of it or be the guy that's in the spotlight in front of thousands and thousands of people."
Radio 1 presenter Danny Howard said it was a "great loss to music".
Skip Twitter post by @dannyhowarddj So so upsetting to hear about Avicii. Far too young to go and such a talent who took risks that defined his massively successful career! A great loss to Music 😢😢 RIP Tim 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/RaYbQp86Jc — Danny Howard (@dannyhowarddj) April 20, 2018 Report
Pete Tong said he was "a major influence in opening up mainstream USA to electronic dance music".
Skip Twitter post by @petetong Sad to hear of @Avicii passing. From humble beginnings went onto conquer the world was a major influence in opening up mainstream USA to electronic dance music. For him it was always about the music not the circus . May his spirit and soul find peace. Way too young x — Pete Tong mbe (@petetong) April 20, 2018 Report
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