From bedroom to stadium, the boy from Stockholm who struggled with stardom
As the world of electronic dance music mourns one of its brightest stars, just how did Avicii rise to become one of the world’s highest-paid and best known superstar DJs?
The Swedish DJ and record producer, real name Tim Bergling, was found dead on Friday afternoon in Muscat, Oman. While details of the events surrounding his death have not been made public, Bergling’s fans, friends and collaborators are left to reflect on what was a spectacular, if not untroubled, career.
Avicii was just 28, and had enjoyed a decade-long career in the music industry, in which he performed for royalty and produced tracks for some of the biggest musicians on the planet.
A double Grammy Award winner, his jet-setting career took him around the world, including Dubai, where he played a famous set at Nasimi Beach, Atlantis the Palm, in 2012 and also performed at the World Trade Centre, in 2016, in what was his final year of touring.
In 2009, Avicii was still a youngster from Stockholm called Tim, who liked playing around with music on his laptop in his bedroom, inspired by the likes of electronic acts such as Swedish House Mafia.
His journey to become an international DJ commanding US$250,000 (Dh918,000) nightly fees was as hedonistic as you would expect from a young, good-looking and well-paid rising star of the dance music scene. The stage name for which he would become famous was derived from a level of Buddhist hell, described to him by a friend. Although the moniker was already taken on social media, Bergling would soon make the name his own.
In 2010, his first release, Seek Bromance made the top 20 in charts across Europe. This was followed by the defining Levels that launched him into the mainstream, thanks in part to sampled vocals by Etta James.
There was no time for Avicii to find his feet behind the decks as he was immediately thrust into the spotlight, and his first show was in front of a crowd of more than 1,000.
It took a further 18 months for him to adapt to the performance anxiety that many artists relate to, and he was soon performing alongside Madonna at the 2012 Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
The pairing signalled a new era of the EDM scene, and gave the 1980s icon a timely boost back into the public eye.
Bergling’s new crazy lifestyle of police escorts and private planes was recorded in an insightful profile in GQ magazine in 2013, when Avicii appeared to be at the peak of his musical powers, during a tour of the United States. But the pressure of performing in front of thousands of people at a time – at more than 250 gigs a year, was starting to take its toll.
“I love everything that comes with it; it’s fun and it’s kind of glamorous,” Bergling told GQ.
“It’s just like when it’s right in the moment and you have that stupid bright light on you. It feels so awkward.”
A constant routine existence of travel and performance may have contributed to his reported health issues.
Acute pancreatitis was blamed on his excessive drinking, and he underwent operations to remove his gallbladder and appendix in 2014.
A period of recovery led to the cancellation of a series of live shows, and Avicii quit touring in 2016 – just seven years after he began to make his name.
While continuing to record studio albums and collaborate with other artists, Avicii described his “crazy journey” to Billboard magazine in 2016 as also the best time of his life.
“It came with a price – a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety for me – but it was the best journey of my life,” he told the publication, almost prophetically.
Avicii helped Coldplay to gain a global hit with A Sky Full of Stars and also collaborated with rapper will.i.am and funk legend Nile Rodgers. Since then, he had led a low-key existence, largely withdrawn from public view.