The world famous DJ behind electronic hits such as “Wake Me Up”, “Levels” and “Hey Brother” that made the world groove to his tune tragically passed away on April 20, 2018. He was just 28 and yet made the world groove to his tunes. Here are 10 things you should know about the Swedish DJ Avicii, who was born as Tim Bergling.
#1. The name Avicii
By Shawn Tron (Avicii @ London tentparty) [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
One of his friends told him that the word “Avici” stands for the lowest level of Buddhist hell. However, that username was already taken on MySpace and he ended up adding an extra ‘I’ to the name.
#2. Passion for Music
He realized he had a passion for music in his senior year of high school. But he had long been making mixes in his bedroom. He produced a number of remixes like “Lazy Jones” which was used as a theme song for Commodore 64 game. He was eventually discovered by Ash Pournouri, who went on to become his manager.
#3. Rising with “Levels”
By Avicii_performing_in_Paris.jpg: Jalil Arfaouiderivative work: Lpdrew (Avicii_performing_in_Paris.jpg) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
After the release of Vodafone Big Top 40 hit in October 2011, his song “Levels” garnered a lot of popularity. It was a huge hit it certainly influenced the DJ’s popularity. The song was written by Avicii himself.
#4. Founded House of Hunger
There are some causes that are closer to our hearts than others. For Avicii, it was ending world hunger. He devoted his time and money into the cause. Back in 2011, he also started his own organization called “House of hunger” with his manager for this cause.
#5. Fame was certain
For over 25 years, the longest #1 song by a Swedish artist in the USA was “The look” by Roxette. However, when Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” was released, it occupied that spot for over six weeks and the DJ claimed his fame.
#6. Humanitarian
Not only did he aim to end world hunger, he was also focused on fighting child trafficking and drew people’s attention to the cause. He raised voice against it in two of his videos.
#7. Took inspiration from everywhere
By The Perfect World Foundation [CC BY 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
There is no limit to creativity and the music artist found inspiration everywhere, be it the artists from his home country like Swedish house Mafia, Eric Prydz or his fans. In 2013, he started a crowd- sourcing project titled “Avicii X You”. The project ended up getting over 4,000 sounds all of which were incorporated in the final track.
#8. Modeling Days
He also did a few modeling gigs. He teamed up with Ralph Lauren for their Denim & Supply campaign and also released a special edit of his song “Silhouettes” for the campaign.
#9. Performing everywhere
By Jalil Arfaoui from Orgeval, France (Avicii @ Inox Park Paris Chatou 2011) [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
He has performed at various big events such as iTunes Festival, Electronic Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. He has also performed at the royal wedding of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Sofia Hellqvist.
#10. Death
On April 20th, 2018, he passed away in Oman, at the age of 28 due to a series of health problems.