Performer, producer Avicii dies at age 28

NEW YORK — Avicii, the Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ who performed sold-out concerts for fans around the world and also had massive success on U.S. pop radio, died Friday. He was 28.

Publicist Diana Baron said the Swedish performer, born Tim Bergling, was found dead in Muscat, Oman. No more details about the death were provided.

Avicii performed his wellknown electronic dance songs to crowds that sometimes numbered in the hundreds of thousands at music festivals, where he was a headline act. His popular sound even sent him to the top of the charts and landed onto U.S. radio: His most-recognized song, “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.

He had suffered acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. After having his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014, he canceled a series of shows in an attempt to recover. In 2016, the performer announced he was retiring from the road, though he continued to produce songs and albums.

Avicii was part of the wave of DJ-producers, like David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, who broke out on the scene as lead performers in their own right, earning international hits, fame and awards. He earned his first Grammy nomination in 2012, for a collaboration with Guetta.

He produced Madonna’s “Devil Pray” and the Coldplay hits “A Sky Full of Stars” and “Hymn for the Weekend.”

Avicii, a two-time Grammy nominee, won two MTV Europe Music Awards and one Billboard Music Award. He is the subject of the 2017 Levan Tsikurishvil documentary “Avicii: True Stories.” Avicii