Avicii

Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. His music consisted primarily of pop-oriented house music, often blended with other genres such as folk, country, bluegrass, soul, and blues. He is considered one of the most popular and successful electronic dance music (EDM) artists of all time and is credited with "leading EDM into the mainstream".

Avicii began posting remixes on Internet forums when he was 16, and in May 2007, he was signed to the Dejfitts Plays record label. After winning a BBC Radio 1 competition in 2008, he signed a talent management agreement with Arash Pournouri. "Levels" (2011) was his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album, True (2013) peaked in the top 10 in more than 15 countries and topped international charts. The lead single, "Wake Me Up", became a most-streamed song on Spotify. Both his album Stories (2015) and the extended play (EP) Avīci (01) (2017) reached number one on the Swedish Sverigetopplistan chart. His third and final album, Tim (2019), was released posthumously and reached number one on the Billboard Top Dance Albums chart.

Avicii, a self-described shy person, suffered from anxiety and depression and used alcohol as a coping mechanism. In 2012, Avicii was hospitalized for 11 days in New York City with acute pancreatitis caused by alcoholism. Between 2012 and 2014, to treat pain from the pancreatitis, Avicii was prescribed opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin, to which he developed an addiction. He ignored the advice of doctors, leading to a ruptured appendix and, in March 2014, he underwent surgery to remove his appendix and gallbladder. He entered a drug rehabilitation facility in 2015 after his closest friends and family organized an intervention in Ibiza. Due to these health issues, Avicii announced his retirement from touring in March 2016. He experienced significant anxiety over the possibility of disappointing his fans and in 2018, while on vacation in Muscat, Oman, Avicii died by suicide at the age of 28, using a broken wine bottle to cause "massive bleeding".

Avicii's accolades included four MTV Europe Music Awards, two International Dance Music Awards, one American Music Award, and one Billboard Music Award. He was nominated for a Grammy for his work on "Sunshine" with David Guetta in 2012 and "Levels" in 2013. His nightly fees were estimated at $250,000 or higher.

Tim Bergling was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 8 September 1989; he was the son of Klas Bergling, who ran an office supply business, and actress Anki Lidén. He had three siblings: David Bergling, Linda Sterner, and actor Anton Körberg. At age eight, Tim started mixing music in his bedroom.

Inspired by his brother, who was also a DJ, Bergling began making music at the age of 16; he taught himself to use a pirated copy of FL Studio. In May 2007, Bergling signed a recording contract with the Dejfitts Plays record label. He was a member of the Laidback Luke Internet forum, under the user name "Timberman", where he posted to get feedback on his music. During this period, he remixed tracks by Little Boots, Robyn, and Dizzee Rascal. Bergling adopted his moniker Avicii, a respelling of Avīci, the lowest level of naraka, or hell, in Buddhism. He chose the moniker because his real name was already in use when he created his page on Myspace.

In April 2010, under the name Tim Berg, Avicii released "Bromance", an instrumental track, via Joia Records, a Swedish independent dance label. After the track became popular, in October 2010, Avicii added vocal elements from Samuele Sartini's track "Love U Seek" (featuring singer Amanda Wilson) to the track and released the song "Seek Bromance" via Ministry of Sound under license from Sirup Music. It reached the top 20 in several countries, including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. In 2010, he signed with the European A&R team at EMI Music Publishing.

"Fade into Darkness", which samples a track from Penguin Cafe Orchestra, was released in July 2011. Leona Lewis sampled the track on her single "Collide", released in August 2011. The samples were not credited to Avicii as he thought Lewis was only going to sample the original track by Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Avicii then attempted to legally block the release of the single; Lewis agreed to give Avicii credits on her track.

In October 2011, Avicii released "Levels", which launched him into the mainstream. "Levels" reached the top ten in 15 countries. The song is considered to be his "career-making early signature song".

Avicii's collaboration track "Sunshine" with David Guetta was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in February 2012 but lost to "Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" by Skrillex.

At Ultra Music Festival 2012 in Miami, Avicii premiered the tracks "Girl Gone Wild" (Avicii's UMF Remix) with Madonna and "Superlove" with Lenny Kravitz.

In April 2012, he released "Silhouettes", which features vocals from Salem Al Fakir. It charted in several European countries.

In March 2013, during his Main Stage set at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Avicii premiered new experimental tracks from his new album, True, including the bluegrass-tinged song "Wake Me Up", with a live band including Mac Davis, Dan Tyminski, Audra Mae, Aloe Blacc, Mike Einziger, Ben Kenney, and Jose Pasillis II. Many of the new songs received mixed critical reviews; the audience "booed" him as it was not the house music that they expected.

That same month, Avicii won Best Artist (Solo) at the 28th Annual International Dance Music Awards.

In April 2013, Avicii and ex-ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson composed the anthem for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. The song was performed for the first time in the final in May 2013.

In June 2013, "Wake Me Up", featuring vocals from Aloe Blacc was released. It was first reviewed by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1. It peaked at number one on the Spotify Global Chart, and Avicii was the second-most-streamed artist worldwide. "Wake Me Up" spent 14 weeks as the number one hit on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, a record at that time. "Wake Me Up" sold 267,000 copies in its first week on sale and overtook Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" as the UK's fastest-selling single of 2013. The song peaked at number one in 22 countries.

In August 2013, Avicii performed "Lay Me Down" with Nile Rodgers and Adam Lambert at Rodgers's fundraiser, "All For The East End". The song, which was released the following month, features Lambert on vocals and Rodgers on guitar.

"Lose Myself", a collaboration between Avicii and Chinese singer Wang Leehom, was released in September 2014. The song was created as the theme song for the Storm Electronic Music Festival, which will be held in Shanghai from 5 to 6 October.

Also that month, Avicii canceled his remaining performances that year due to health concerns.

Also in September 2014, Avicii released a preview of "The Days". "The Days" is a collaboration between Avicii and Robbie Williams and was released as the first single from Avicii's album Stories in October 2014. It was included as a bonus track on the album's Japanese versions.

Also in September 2014, EA Sports announced Avicii was debuting a new track called "The Nights" exclusively on the video game FIFA 15.

In November 2014, Wyclef Jean released "Divine Sorrow" featuring Avicii that was part of Product Red's campaign "Share the Sound of an AIDS-Free Generation".

In January 2016, The Coca-Cola Company partnered with Avicii to release a global campaign song, "Taste the Feeling", featuring Conrad Sewell. In March 2016, the song was named as the theme for Coca-Cola's UEFA Euro 2016 ad campaign.

Also in January 2016, Avicii again worked with Coldplay to co-produce the band's single "Hymn for the Weekend", which was released as the second single from their album A Head Full of Dreams. However, according to Avicii's team, Avicii's involvement in the song was "very minor".

In early 2016, Avicii embarked on a cross-country U.S. road trip named "The Crowning of Prince Liam", after his dog. The trip included close collaborators Sandro Cavazza, Carl Falk, Dhani Lennevald, and Sebastian Furrer and started in Malibu, California. It was designed as a creative, soul-searching escape from the heavy mental and physical stress of global touring. On the trip, he and his collaborators wrote and recorded music in mobile recording studios in national parks and scenic locations. They made custom jackets for the trip. The road trip culminated in March 2016 at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. During the trip, Avicii and his crew created the song "Without You" and part of "Forever Yours".

In March 2016, at Ultra Music Festival, Avicii debuted new demos such as "We Burn" featuring Sandro Cavazza, "Faster Than Light", "Without You", "Our Love" and "Unbreakable".

Also in March 2016, Avicii posted a message on his website announcing he would be retiring from touring later that year, citing health concerns.

In August 2017, Avicii released the six-track EP Avīci (01), which reached number one on the Swedish Sverigetopplistan chart. The album's single, "Without You" featuring Sandro Cavazza, was released on the same day as the album's release, and "Lonely Together" featuring Rita Ora, was released the following day, reaching number one and number three, respectively, on the Swedish chart. Avicii uploaded teasers of each track from the EP upon release.

In November 2017, a remix package for "Lonely Together" was released, featuring remixes by Alan Walker, DJ Licious, Jaded, and Dexter.

In an interview with Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, Avicii stated the EP is one of three parts of his third studio album.

In September 2017, Avicii announced a documentary directed by his long-time collaborator Levan Tsikurishvili titled Avicii: True Stories. The documentary chronicles Avicii's retirement from touring and features interviews from his colleagues David Guetta, Tiësto, Wyclef Jean, Nile Rodgers, and Chris Martin.

In January 2018, Anderson East released the single "Girlfriend", which was co-written with Avicii for Anderson's album Encore.

In April 2019, "SOS" , the lead single for the album Tim, on which Avicii was working before his death, was released.

The second single from the album, titled "Tough Love", was released in May 2019, including a music video.

The third single, "Heaven", was released in June 2019; it was co-written by Chris Martin. The music video includes clips of Avicii holidaying in Madagascar after his retirement from touring in 2016. Billboard cited "Heaven" as one of the best dance songs of the first half of 2019.

Tim was released in June 2019; the net proceeds from the sale of the album went towards the Tim Bergling Foundation.

In November 2019, Avicii won Best Swedish Act at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards, his third win after 2013 and 2018.

Initially when starting out, sound-wise it was mostly the Swedish house producers, mainly Eric Prydz and Axwell, but also Steve Angello and Seb Ingrosso. Nowadays for some, this is quite a different question. Id say the musicians that has influenced me the most in terms of lyrics, melody and arrangement has been: Earth wind and fire, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Etta James, Coldplay, [Red Hot Chili Peppers], [System of a Down], Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Little Dragon, Of Monsters and Men, Mumford and Sons, The Beatles, Nile Rodgers – I could go on forever here (Guess I kind of already have :) – BUT my production, meaning the electronic music that is always there, sometimes more apparent and sometimes not as much, I still owe to Eric Prydz, [Swedish House Mafia] and Daft Punk.

Avicii's early work was in deep house and progressive house styles, usually based on a four-chord structure, sub-bass, and a simple synth melody. His debut studio album, True, blends musical genres, including folktronica. While making the album, Avicii wanted to fuse electronic music with soul, funk, blues, folk, and country because he felt EDM had become too focused on "dirty drops". Its first single, "Wake Me Up", is a folk music crossover, which, according to Katie Bain of The Observer, "tapped into the market potential of mixing EDM and country, a template many artists have since recreated". A Variety editor commented Avicii's "distinct sound" consists of "soaring synths and keening melodies". Ian Youngs of the BBC noted Avicii's biggest hits have elements in common: "insistent, escapist" house music production, guest vocals to "lend accessibility and depth", and "irresistible" melodies. Musicians such as Kygo, Skrillex, Diplo, Gryffin, Martin Garrix, and Cheat Codes cited Avicii as a source of inspiration.

In 2011, after achieving widespread commercial success, Avicii began working with his manager and executive producer Ash Pournouri to start House for Hunger, a charity dedicated to alleviating global hunger. The goal was to raise $1 million from ticket sales for a 25-date US tour that began in January. The goal was reached, and the funds were donated to Feeding America. In early 2013, Avicii donated all proceeds from his "Avicii X You" project to House for Hunger.

That same year, Avicii partnered with Macy's to sell a $20 "Play Button" pin, a wearable MP3 player with 1.8 GB of free storage and a playlist that included Avicii, Moby, Hardwell, and Nicky Romero. As part of this initiative, $60,000 was donated to the FEED Foundation. In 2014, Avicii lent support to HIV/AIDS organisations. In November, he collaborated with Product Red to launch the "Ultimate Year of Music with Avicii". That same month, Wyclef Jean released the song "Divine Sorrow", featuring Avicii, with proceeds going to the Product Red Global Fund. He also supported campaigns against human trafficking and gang violence when he directed the videos for his tracks "For a Better Day" and "Pure Grinding".

Avicii met Emily Goldberg, an American student, in 2011; they dated for two years. He then dated Racquel Bettencourt, a Canadian student and model with whom he lived in California; the couple separated in late 2014. On the podcast Sofia with an F, Bettencourt said she and Avicii restarted their relationship in 2016; a pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. At the time of his death, he was dating Tereza Kačerová, a Czech model; they kept their relationship private.

When Avicii was a teenager, he smoked marijuana for the first time, leading to feelings of paranoia and derealization. Avicii confessed his substance use to his parents and expressed concern of a psychosis. They took him to a child psychologist.

Avicii suffered from anxiety and depression. He was self-conscious of his appearance, specifically his nose and acne. As a shy person, being recognized by fans in public, performing, and a grueling tour schedule led him to drink alcohol as a coping mechanism. He also had poor eating habits and did not sleep much. He wore caps because he thought his hair looked bad.

"I just got into a habit, because you rely on that encouragement and self-confidence you get from alcohol, and then you get dependent on it." - Avicii in 2013

In January 2012, Avicii was hospitalised for 11 days in New York City with acute pancreatitis that was caused by alcoholism. Between 2012 and 2014, Avicii was prescribed opioids for the pain caused by his pancreatitis, including OxyContin and Vicodin, to which he developed an addiction. To wean himself off the addiction, in 2014, he began taking buprenorphine/naloxone, a milder opioid. He said that "Of course, I didn't listen to the majority of doctors". In addition to changing his habits, doctors recommended that Avicii have his gallbladder removed; however, he put off the surgery due to a busy schedule. As a result, his appendix ruptured.

In March 2014, Avicii underwent surgery and had both his appendix and gallbladder removed.

Avicii enjoyed playing World of Warcraft as well as Grand Theft Auto V.

In 2013, Avicii bought a 7,000 square-foot house on one-third of an acre in Hollywood Hills for $15.5 million. It was sold for $17.5 million just after his death.

Avicii was stressed due to high pressure from management and fans to continue touring and maintaining his public persona. He experienced significant anxiety over the possibility of disappointing his fans and was deeply affected by the "flood of hate mail" he received after cancelled performances.

On 8 April 2018, Avicii traveled to Muscat, Oman for a vacation, where he visited friends in the country’s royal family, the Al Bu Said dynasty. A day after arriving, he held a conference call with members of his management team to discuss which guest artists he wanted to recruit for new music. He also posed for photos with fans at the Muscat Hills Resort and went kite-surfing and sailing with friends.

In a conversation with Avicii's father on the day before Avicii's death, a friend expressed concern about Bergling's mental state and his meditations and noted that he wasn't eating or speaking. The last post in Avicii's diary read: "The shedding of the soul is the last attachment, before it restarts!". After a worrisome conversation with Avicii, his brother reportedly flew to Oman to attempt to "bring him home".

On 20 April 2018, at a luxury estate and private farmhouse owned by the Al Bu Said dynasty in Muscat, Avicii committed suicide at the age of 28, using a broken wine bottle to cause "massive bleeding".

The Royal Oman Police carried out two autopsies and announced on 21 April there was "no criminal suspicion" or evidence of foul play in Avicii's death.

Avicii died without a will and testament. Per Swedish law, his assets, including financial assets valued at $25.5 million/£20 million/SEK231 million after settling debts and paying expenses, went to his parents. In September 2022, Avicii's family sold 75% of his master recordings and publishing rights to Pophouse Entertainment; they retained a 25% interest to maintain some creative control over use. The deal was estimated to be worth "nine figures", or over $100 million, and proceeds were donated to the Tim Bergling Foundation to ensure that it will be able to fund its general expenses in the long term.

Bergling's family released an open letter stating:

Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions. An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress. When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be able to be happy and to do what he loved most – music. He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could now not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace. Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight. Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed. The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive. We love you, The Family.

Several hours after learning of Avicii's death, Kygo concluded his set at Coachella by playing "Without You" in memory of Avicii. Onstage, Kygo described Avicii as "a true musical genius".

Two days later, OneRepublic paid tribute to Avicii by performing his song "Wake Me Up" during their show in Mumbai, India.

At the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, The Chainsmokers and Halsey paid tribute to Avicii, including an emotional discussion about mental health, before presenting the winner of the Top Hot 100 Song.

In May 2018, Tiësto played a medley of Avicii's songs at EDC Las Vegas. Aloe Blacc joined Tiësto on stage to perform "Wake Me Up".

At BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2018, Rita Ora, Avicii's most recent collaborator, described him as "a really good friend" who "changed [her] life". Ora paid similar tributes at King's Day and Capital's Summertime Ball.

In April 2018, Malgosia Fiebig played a collection of Avicii's songs on the carillon of bells within the Dom Tower of Utrecht.

In May 2018, during the first night of the finale of the 14th season of The Voice, coach Alicia Keys performed Avicii's "Wake Me Up" as part of her coach duet with the last remaining artist on her team, Britton Buchanan.

In November 2018, Bergling's family organised a public memorial service at Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm, Sweden. Hundreds of fans filled the church to mourn and pay their respects. The service featured an orchestral choir that played music linked to events in Avicii's life and ended with a version of his 2013 song "Wake Me Up".

At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2019, tributes were set aside for Avicii, Mac Miller, and Aretha Franklin, who all died in 2018.

In April 2019, a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, included the words "TIM BERGLING: 1989 – FOREVER" underneath the Avicii logo.

Many artists in the electronic dance music (EDM) genre have cited Avicii as an influence on their work, and many of these paid tribute to him after his death. Alan Walker and DubVision described him as an "icon" in EDM. Norwegian DJ Kygo cited Avicii as "[his] biggest inspiration and the reason why [he] started making electronic music". Other artists, such as Diplo, Sebastian Ingrosso, Felix Jaehn, and Martin Garrix, the last of whom collaborated with Avicii on his 2015 single "Waiting for Love", have also cited him as a source of inspiration. The songs "Levels" and "Seek Bromance" were named as points of inspiration.

On the day of Avicii's death, The Washington Post wrote an article calling him a pioneer artist who attempted to bridge the gap between country and electronic music, crediting his 2013 hits "Wake Me Up" and "Hey Brother" as examples of this movement. Avicii is also credited for influencing other attempts at continuing this genre crossover, including songs such as Zedd's "The Middle" and Hailee Steinfeld's "Let Me Go".

Writing the day after Avicii's death, Marcus Dowling of Mixmag described him as the artist "most responsible for the mainstream pop crossover success of electronic music", said his 2011 single "Levels" had "elevated electro into the pop cultural stratosphere" and that Avicii had become "a living legend". Several publications credit Avicii as one of the DJs who took electronic music to Top 40 radio in the early 2010s. He is also considered one of the most popular and most successful EDM artists of all time.

Avicii influenced several mainstream artists outside electronic music. Nile Rodgers said, in terms of melody writing, Avicii was "maybe one of the best, if not the best I've ever worked with". Mike Einziger of Incubus said, "Some of the work we did together is some of the music I'm most proud of in my whole life". Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons said, "working with [Avicii] was one of my favorite collaborative moments". Charlie Puth said Avicii was "The man who really opened my eyes as to what my productions could one day sound like". Eric Clapton said he was "inspired by Avicii" and dedicated a song off his Christmas album, Happy Xmas, to him.

In November 2019, Billboard named Avicii's 2011 hit "Levels" one of the 100 songs that define the 2010s, while his 2013 single "Wake Me Up" came 13th and was the highest-charting EDM song on the Official Charts Company's chart of the decade.

In March 2019, Bergling's family launched the Tim Bergling Foundation, focusing on mental illness and suicide prevention. The foundation works internationally and aims to educate people and businesses about suicide and mental health. The foundation also works to mitigate climate change, manage business development, and conserve endangered species. Since 2019, several music industry figures have cited Avicii's death as a reason for the increased awareness of mental health in the industry.

Inspired by ABBA The Museum, the Avicii Experience opened in February 2022 with a ceremony by Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Sofia, alongside Bergling's father, Klas, in Space Stockholm, a digital-culture centre near Sergels torg. The museum features reconstructions of Bergling's childhood bedroom and Los Angeles mansion and offers the ability to remix recordings of Avicii's most popular works and unreleased music. The museum was the idea of Bergling's parents, who wanted to give fans a place to remember and celebrate the work of Avicii and learn about his music-creation process. The interactive museum also includes exhibitions depicting several stages in Avicii's life, including a simulation of the high-paced lifestyle he experienced before his retirement from touring in 2016. These exhibits are designed to give visitors an understanding of the health issues Avicii faced. Exhibitions are also dedicated to raising awareness of mental health problems in young people and the wider music industry.

Avicii was depicted on a Swedish postage stamp issued 15 January 2015 by PostNord Sverige.

Avicii was named in the 2015 song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" by Mike Posner. Posner recounts the event when he went to an Avicii show in Ibiza and got a mystery pill from someone, with the starting lyrics "I took a pill in Ibiza / To show Avicii I was cool". The song was made in the week they wrote a song together in Sweden called "Stay with You".

Avicii was the codename of the OnePlus Nord, a smartphone released in 2020.

On 8 September 2021, Google released a doodle to pay homage to Bergling on what would have been his 32nd birthday during National Suicide Prevention Week.