Swedish superstar DJ Avicii dies in hotel in Oman, aged 28
His death comes just days after he was nominated for a Billboard Music Award, and two years after he quit touring for health reasons
Avicii, the globally celebrated electronic dance music DJ, was found dead on Friday afternoon in a hotel in Muscat, Oman, his representative has confirmed.
In a statement, his rep wrote: “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, 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.”
His death comes just days after he was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic album for his EP “Avicii (01)”. The cause of his death has not emerged, but in 2016 he quit touring because of health issues.
The DJ hit global fame with the Etta James-sampled dance track Levels in 2011; the following year he received a Grammy nomination for his work with fellow DJ and producer David Guetta on another song, Sunshine.
He raked in 10 awards over the following two years, as well as placing at number 3 on DJ Mag‘s top 100 DJs list in 2012 and 2013.
His other hits include Wake Me Up!, The Days and You Make Me. He is the subject of the 2017 documentary Avicii: True Stories by Levan Tsikurishvil.
Avicii had quit live performances in 2016, citing health reasons, but continued to make music in his studio. He had been sent to hospital on several occasions, including for inflammation of the pancreas linked to excessive drinking.
After having his gallbladder and appendix removed during the same operation in 2014, he cancelled a series of shows in attempt to recover.
“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 [it] 100 per cent,” Avicii told 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.”
Avicii was part of the wave of DJ-producers, like Guetta, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, who broke out on the scene as lead performers in their own right, earning international hits, fame, awards and more like typical pop stars.
He earned his first Grammy nomination in 2012 for a collaboration with Guetta.
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 @avicii.”
Madonna, with whom Avicii had collaborated, posted to Instagram “So Sad....... So Tragic. Good Bye Dear Sweet Tim. Gone too Soon.”
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”.
One Direction’s Liam Payne and Dua Lipa also tweeted about the performer.