Swedish DJ Avicii died earlier today, his publicist has confirmed. He was 28 years old.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” publicist Diana Baron said in a statement. “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.”
Billboard reports:
Avicii’s health issues were known to the public for several years prior to his death. He suffered from acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. In 2014, he canceled numerous shows in order to recover after having his gallbladder and appendix removed.
In 2016, Avicii announced he was retiring from touring entirely citing health reasons.
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“The scene was not for me,” he said. “It was not the shows and not the music. It was always the other stuff surrounding it that never came naturally to me.”
“All the other parts of being an artist. I’m more of an introverted person in general. It was always very hard for me. I took on board too much negative energy, I think.”
Several of Avicii’s friends, fans, and peers have expressed their sorrow on social media over today’s shocking news:
Devastating news about Avicii, a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do. My heart goes out to his family. God bless you Tim x
— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) April 20, 2018
My heartfelt condolences to Tim's family and close friends. I can't express how deeply sad I am. Meeting him changed my life. He was an amazingly talented person and it hurts so bad that he's gone.
— Aloe Blacc (@aloeblacc) April 20, 2018
Damn Dude RIP #Avicii ??
— DJ Pauly D (@DJPaulyD) April 20, 2018
. @Avicii was talented and kind, and I was genuinely excited to see what would come next from him. His future most certainly should have been written beyond age 28. I am
heartbroken.
Rest easy Tim.— Kaskade (@kaskade) April 20, 2018
Rest easy Avicii, you inspired so many of us. Wish I could have said that to you in person x
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) April 20, 2018
At a loss for words…Rest easy brother ? @Avicii
— marshmello (@marshmellomusic) April 20, 2018
After announcing his retirement from touring, Avicii reassured fans that he would continue recording in the studio, saying in a statement posted to his website that making music was “what I feel I was born to do.”
“The next stage will be all about my love of making music to you guys,” he wrote. “It is the beginning of something new.”
ChrisK
If you have addiction issues it must be hard to abstain from it in these kind of environments.
tham
At least with music, (more so then any other medium, writing is a close second) you can live forever.
Smith David
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but….was he gay? or? I’m not sure how this is LGBTQ NEWS?
jjose712
Well, he is a dj his music is played at gay clubs.
There are a lot of not gay related news in this site anyway
Troyfight
^….i’m like smith david….curious if he was gay, no matter where he played…?
ShowMeGuy
*The Gays* consume a ton of Electronic Dance Music…..and Avicii is one of the cornerstone members of that scene……so gay news.
Dubr1988
Hi was gay simpel as that..
Dubr1988
YOU WILL LIVE ON..FOREV.
ChrisK
Yes and that’s as close as I’ll ever get to spirituality. Life ever after or what not.
Dubr1988
I WILL ALWAY’S LOVE YOU MY LOVE…
therealzam
I find this quote strikingly pertinent: “Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart died, they simply became music.” He has left us with his final tune.
therealzam
I find this quote strikingly pertinent: “Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart never died, they simply became music.” He has left us with his final tune.
tnguy222
‘Bromance’ –by Tim Berg
RIP AVICII
chris33133
Even old farts like me liked this guys music. I’ll miss him and I hope his family has great memories of their kid.
Prax07
Never heard of him before, sad that he died, but don’t get why this is gay news.
CastleSF
Even a conservative like me appreciates his music, the rebellious undertones and the sense of isolation in an unfriendly environment. His MTV “Levels” is one of my favorites. I so love to watch the nerdy guy dance in such a seductive way. And that Asian dragon lady!
nitejonboy
His song ” Hey Brother ” is permanently on my playlist. Love it. RIP Tim
surreal33
We seriously need to do soul searching to determine why so many within gay community DO NOT EMBRACE self-love??? Love yourself because I promise you no drug, person or substance is going to do it for you!!!
ChrisK
Yes. Substance abuse is a big problem in the LGBT community.
For me it started off as something fun and of course wanting to fit in. In other words, the usual. When I became addicted and couldn’t stop then it became about hate. It was is just a slow suicide.
tnguy222
Yeah man, drugs are a slow, miserable way to kill oneself. But, it is just as important to know and discover what is an unsustainable and soul taxing way of life, as it is to discover the freedom and bounty and opportunities given by total sobriety
CastleSF
For anyone who has substance addiction in his mind, my take is that trying to suppress and/or replace a hard addiction can work but only for a while before relapsing. What you want to do is add something new to your life, your passion (which may still be unknown to you) or even a less harmful addiction like shopping, blogging, video taping, or just dining out ) so that you still feed your addicted mind (because most addictions are here to stay with you lifelong) while you become stronger and more spiritually equipped to combat with the addiction. I hope someone out there may find this helpful.
tnguy222
@Castle decent advice. I do a some legal work for a pretty major addiction center chain, and I have seen that those with strong social support and employment do the best.
I used substances from 16 until 26, and have been totally and completely sober, including cigarettes, for 2 years. .
I had always managed my addiction, but about two years ago I had a wake up call. It was not life or career altering, but it was enough to compel a change.
Total sobriety has given me a truly wonderful life of freedom, wealth, and more emotional clarity. I am sweeter to my saint of a boyfriend who has stuck with me, and I know to regress at all would be to live a life of ruin.
CastleSF
tnguy, we often don’t know what kind of impact our experiences may have on other people’s lives, people we are unlikely to meet in this lifetime. I am certain, however, that your story will inspire some people out there to make a decision to do something that will ultimately alter the trajectory of their struggle with substance addiction.
ChrisK
I get it that his friends and family want to protect him but I wish sometimes that they be more honest about what’s going on. Like the storm chaser guy. According to his good friend he died from doing 2 ambiens and just eating too much that night. I get it but of course it’s BS.
I just think it would help people better if the truth were put out. I mean we all know what happens at these circuit parties. For an addict it’s the worst possible scenario.
Doug
This is really sad. I recommend seeing “Avicci: True Stories,” a great documentary that explains a lot about how he became an alcoholic trying to deal with fame at such a young age. 28 is just too young to die.
johnnymcmxxx
It’s terrible when someone this young is destroyed and I am sorry for his family. Having said that, his “music” was awful. EDM is the worst dance music ever, designed for and constructed by soulless white tweekers who are so fucked up, it is the only crap that blends with their fucked up meth/molly/GHB fried brains. EDM is for white people who dance badly.