It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of one of the most iconic names in dance music. Swedish DJ and producer Tim Bergling – better known as Avicii – passed away on Friday, April 20th as confirmed by his publicist.
Avicii played a significant role in shaping the current state of the electronic music world and contributed an array of productions that have given a new breath of life and emotion to the industry. We’re honoring the impact that Bergling made today by sharing 28 facts about the artist and his feats in his short 28 years of life.
1 Avicii has an impressive number of accolades under his belt. He was ranked third on DJ Mag ‘s annual Top 100 DJs in 2012 and 2013. He has also been nominated twice for a Grammy Award, once for his work on “Sunshine” with David Guetta in 2012 and once for his song “Levels” in 2013. 2 His hit track “Seek Bromance” was released in 2010 and reached the top 20 in several countries including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Sweden.3 He’s worked for many artists across the globe, including a remix of Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali’s “Rapture” for her album Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition.
4 The artist signed with European A&R team with EMI Music Publishing (owned by a consortium led by Sony and forms part of the largest music publishing corporation in the world) in October 2010. 5 Avicii released “Levels” in 2011, which propelled him into the mainstream electronic music scene. He wrote and produced the track himself; the vocal sample comes from the 1962 gospel-inspired “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” by Etta James.
6 “Levels” hit the top ten in charts internationally – Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom – and took the #1 slot in Hungary, Norway and Sweden. 7 His collaboration with David Guetta, a track called “Sunshine”, was nominated for a Grammy award under the category for Best Dance Recording in 2012. 8 One of his most well-known tracks, “Fade Into Darkness”, was sampled by Leona Lewis on her single “Collide”. This caused controversy because the sample was not accredited and thus Avicii attempted to block the single’s release. This was later resolved outside of court as representatives explained that “Leona Lewis and Avicii will work together on the forthcoming single of Collide.”
9 The unreleased single “Last Dance” was previewed on Pete Tong’s show on BBC Radio 1 at the end of March 2012. It was released later that year on August 27. 10 His Ultra Music Festival performance in 2012 was legendary – he premiered two tracks, “Girl Gone Wild” (Avicii’s UMF Remix) with Madonna and “Superlove” with Lenny Kravitz.
11 He loves to celebrate with his fans! After hitting two million Facebook followers, he released a new song titled “Two Million“. It was shared as a free download on his official Soundcloud page. 12 “Silhouettes” came out on April 27, 2012. The track featured vocals from Salem Al Fakir and made out impressively on the charts: it hit number six on the UK Dance charts and number four on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. 13 Avicii released “Dancing in My Head” (Avicii’s ‘Been Cursed’ Mix) on Beatport on August 12, 2012. A remix EP for the track was released last that year on October 30 and featured remixes from Charlie Bernardo and Michael Woods. 14 He made history on September 26, 2012 by becoming the first DJ to headline the world famous Radio City Music Hall located in New York City. 15 He recently moved into a 7,000 square ft. mansion in Hollywood Hills, California that cost a stunning $15,750,000. The remarkable luxury residence at 1474 Blue Jay Way offers simply breathtaking panoramic views of downtown Los Angeles all the way to Santa Monica.
17 To mark the three million follower mark on Facebook, Avicii released “Three Million” featuring Negin on January 30, 2013. 18 The artist was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording with “Levels” in 2013 alongside Calvin Harris and Ne-Yo, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia and John Martin, and Al Walser. 19 The world premiere of “Wake Me Up” was previewed by by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 on June 14, 2013. The song was released later that month.
20 On his 25th birthday – September 8, 2013 – Avicii cancelled his remaining performances for the year due to health concerns. 21 Some of Avicii’s greatest influences include Daft Punk, Swedish House Mafia and Eric Prydz. 22 Avicii started working with his manager and executive producer, Ash Pournouri, to kickoff House for Hunger – a charity dedicated to alleviating global hunger – in 2011. Ash and Avicii wanted to showcase the giving spirit that they found existing so strongly in the house music community.
Avicii once explained that “you have to give something back. I am so fortunate to be in the position where I can actually do that. I feel lucky every day when I wake up and am able to do what I love and make a living.”
23 He had a serious girlfriend – a beautiful blonde named Emily Goldberg – whom he started dating exclusively in 2012. They share an adorable dog named Bear.
“Wow, people really went all out. Americans are really good at partying… “Swedish people would be too cool for this kind of thing.” 25 Bergling chose the name “Avicii” after learning from a friend that “Avici” was a level of Buddhist Hell. He added the extra “i” because “Avici” was taken on Myspace already. It took him approximately eighteen months to get comfortable behind the decks. 26 He’s not a sell-out, and isn’t stoked on the people who feel that he is. He’s explained that it “drives him crazy when people call him a sellout for making a remix for Madonna” – and for those who say he’s too mainstream: “I have always been mainstream. It’s so weird, because I don’t see it as something negative at all. So many people see it as something negative.” 27 Avicii’s first show ever was in front of only 1,000 people. Shortly after, he found himself commanding six figures – upwards of $150-200k per show – at clubs across the States and performing at Ultra Music Festival with Madonna. His commentary on his own growth is fitting: “It was just perfect timing. My own rise went hand in hand with the whole EDM rise.” 28 He co-produced Coldplay’s massive track “A Sky Full of Stars” in collaboration with Chris Martin. The song was from the band’s sixth studio album, Ghost Stories, released in May 2014.
RIP, Avicii. You were a legend lost too soon.
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