Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Grammy-nominated DJ-producer
NEW YORK — Avicii, the Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ who performed sold-out concerts for feverish fans around the world and also had massive success on U.S. pop radio, died Friday. He was 28.
Publicist Diana Baron said in a statement that the Swedish performer, born Tim Bergling, was found dead in Muscat, Oman.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” the statement read. “The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time.”
Avicii was an international pop star, performing his well-known electronic dance songs around the world for die-hard fans, sometimes hundreds of thousands at music festivals, where he was the headline act. His popular sound even sent him to the top of the charts and landed onto U.S. radio: His most recognized song, the country-dance mashup “Wake Me Up,” was a multi-platinum success and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. On the dance charts, he had seven Top 10 hits.
But in 2016, the performer announced he was retiring from the road. He continued to produce songs and albums.
Avicii earned his first Grammy nomination at the 2012 show — for a collaboration with David Guetta.
He continued to collaborate with more high-profile acts, producing Madonna’s “Devil Pray” and the Coldplay hits, “A Sky Full of Stars” and “Hymn for the Weekend.” He was even part of Mike Posner’s megahit “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” which featured the lyrics: “I took a pill in Ibiza/ To show Avicii I was cool.” The song was based off Posner’s true story at an Avicii concert in Ibiza.
Avicii built a strong musical and personal friendship with Nile Rodgers, who called Avicii his “little brother” in an interview on Friday.
“I’m shocked because I don’t know medically what happened, but I can just say as a person, as a friend, and more importantly, as a musician, Tim was one of the greatest, natural melody writers I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with some of the most brilliant musicians on this planet,” Rodgers said.
Avicii had in the past suffered acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. After having his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014, he canceled a series of shows.
“It’s been a very crazy journey. I started producing when I was 16. I started touring when I was 18. From that point on, I just jumped into 100 percent,” Avicii told The Hollywood Reporter 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.”
Rodgers said his last performance with Avicii — about three years ago — upset him because of Avicii’s drinking.
“It was a little bit sad to me because he had promised me he would stop drinking, and when I saw him he was drunk that night.”
Fans and members of the music community mourned his death on social media Friday.
“Something really horrible happened. We lost a friend with such a beautiful heart and the world lost an incredibly talented musician,” Guetta wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for your beautiful melodies, the time we shared in the studio, playing together as djs or just enjoying life as friends. RIP (at)avicii.”
Calvin Harris called Avicii “a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do.” Ellie Goulding wrote that Avicii “inspired so many of us. Wish I could have said that to you in person.”
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven called the lost star “one of Sweden’s biggest musicians.”
Avicii, a two-time Grammy nominee, won two MTV Europe Music Awards and one Billboard Music Award. His death comes just days after he was nominated for a 2018 Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic album for his EP “Avicii (01).”
Avicii is the subject of the 2017 Levan Tsikurishvil documentary “Avicii: True Stories.”