Avicii
Avicii was an EDM (electronic dance music) DJ from Sweden. Once he had established a name for himself by the onset of the 2010s, he went on to work with a plethora of big-name artists including Leona Lewis, Lenny Kravitz, Rita Ora and Aloe Blacc. And when studying his brief career, you will notice that between 2011 and 2019 he came out with a number of super-platinum, international hits.
Unfortunately any of those which came out after April of 2018 were actually released posthumously. For on the 20th day of that month Avicii, at the age of 28, took his own life. Unfortunately despite his monumental success, Tim Bergling dealt with serious mental issues, such as depression and a stressful lifestyle. But even though he retired from the touring scene a couple of years prior, his suicide still caught people off guard. But the positive which can be taken away from the story is that his passing caused many people to take mental health more seriously.
Two of his albums, “True” (2013) and “Stories” (2015), came out while he was alive. His first posthumous album, “Tim”, was released in 2019. All were international successes, especially his first two projects.
Meaning of “Avicii”
Avicii was born Tim Bergling. According to him, he adopted the name Avicii, when he joined the social networking site, MySpace. He first heard the name from a close friend, when he asked for a unique name to use on the network. Avicii comes from the Buddhist word Avici, which meant the lowest level of Buddhist hell, or a structure of hell with no supportto stand on. However, he added an extra “i” to the name when he realized it was already in use by somebody on the platform.
Personal Life
Tim was birthed in Stockholm to Swedish parents, Klas Bergling and Anna Catarina Lidén. His mom is a well-known Swedish actress. One of her most notable works is starring in the Oscar-nominated movie, My Life As A Dog, in 1985. He was raised with three siblings.
Tim spent his entire childhood in Stockholm with his family. As a child, he was an extreme introvert and had a few friends. He spent the majority of his time alone in his room listening to and mixing music. His passion for music grew, and he started writing his own songs and making remixes of old songs, using FL Studio, a music production software.
He posted his music on social media networks, where he got his stage name Avicii. This attracted many music labels, leading him to sign his first record deal at age 16.
Although his career was cut short by his sudden death on April 20, 2018, he left behind numerous heartbroken loved ones and ex-girlfriends.
Avicii’s Girlfriends
He was involved in a romantic relationship with American citizen Emily Goldberg in 2011. Their relationship lasted for two years. Goldberg released an Instagram post, after his death, which suggested that some of Avicii’s lyrics were about her and their relationship.
He dated famous Canadian model, Raquel Natasha from 2013 to 2014. They had an open relationship, and made many social media posts of themselves during their relationship.
Czech Republican model Tereza Kačerová, was the last person to be involved in a relationship with Avicii, before his passing. They were involved in a private relationship and allegedly made plans of having their own children. However, Tereza had a son and regarded Avicii as the stepfather of her son. She made numerous social media posts about her relationship with Avicii after his death.
He never married in his lifetime.
Love for Music since Infancy
He had an interest in music ever since he was a kid. At the age of eight, He had learned how to make remixes of songs in his bedroom and had been posting his remixes on electronic music platforms. He signed his first record deal at the young age of 16, with the Deifitts Plays label.
Avicii makes it Big!
His hit single, Wake Me Up, released in 2013 as the lead song on his album titled True, topped the music charts of many European countries. It was ranked fourth on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned six platinum certifications by the RIAA. The YouTube video of the song surpassed two billion views in 2021. He had two Grammy nominations and had won several awards in his career.
More Interesting Facts about Avicii
He loved reading books and watching sitcoms as his hobbies. Also, he confirmed in many interviews that he was a person who enjoyed reading a lot and had even read all of the books of the famous series, Game of Thrones, three times.
Avicii also shared his love for the popular sitcom, South Park and Arrested Development, saying he had watched the entire series about six times. He also did some modeling in his lifetime. He modeled for the Denim & Supply line of Ralph Lauren.
On September 26, 2012, he became the first DJ to headline and play a world-famous venue. He headlined the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He also had the privilege of a lifetime to DJ at the royal wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, of the royal family of Sweden.
Although he was a very wealthy musician, he revealed that all the money he had did not bring him any satisfaction or peace in his life. He believed he found peace when he gave out to the less fortunate in society. He donated a million dollars to Feeding America, a charity organization that helps to fight hunger globally.
In 2012, he launched a tour titled the House of Hunger. All the money gained from the tour was donated to many charity organizations in the world.
Health Challenges and Death
Throughout his career, he battled many health problems including, stress, anxiety, alcoholism, and depression. He was hospitalized several times and even had to undergo a surgical operation one time, in which his gall bladder and appendix were removed. He canceled many shows and tours due to his health condition. In 2016, he officially announced his permanent retirement from live performances and tour events, for the sake of his health.
He died on 20 April 2018, at age 28, through suicide committed by self-inflicted wounds using broken glasses.
More About Avicii’s Tragic Death
On April 20, 2018, the entire music industry was stunned by the shocking news of the death of Avicii. The Wake Me Up hitmaker died in Muscat, Oman. The news of his death brought a lot of misery to music lovers across the globe. The most shocking part was that it happened at a time when he had earned an incredible level of adoration, fame, success, and wealth in his career. This is on top of the fact that he was very young.
Although he had an incredible career, his success came with many problems. Many of his close friends considered him as a die-hard perfectionist and one who worked very hard at an extreme rate. Throughout his career, he battled many health and psychological conditions including anxiety, stress, alcoholism, and depression.
In 2012, he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, a condition that can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption. This led to him being hospitalized for over a week. In 2014, he was hospitalized in Miami, when he was diagnosed with a blockage in his gallbladder. He went through a surgical process and his appendix was removed along with his gall bladder. These health problems forced him to cancel many of his shows and tours. He eventually announced his permanent retirement from touring and any live performance in 2016, due to his health problems.
Death by Suicide
On 21 April 2018, the Omani police department released a statement about the death of the young musician. They stated that there was no suspicion of a criminal act or evidence of such in the death of the musician. They also stated that they had carried out two postmortem tests on the body and they all proved their conclusion that there was no criminal act in the death.
His family released an open letter to address their loss on 26 April 2018. The letter expressed their love for their relative and how they already miss him, as well as their promise to always keep his music and memory alive. The letter also explained Avicii had many problems in his lifetime and he reached a point where he could not bear to live with those problems.
However, according to close sources to Avicii and his Family, the cause of his death was a suicide due to self-inflicted wounds with a broken glass bottle. Apparently, he broke a wine bottle he was drinking from and used the glass to cut himself until he bled to death. Some sources report that he deeply cut his wrist. Others say the cut was done at his neck.
Avicii died at age 28 and was buried in Stockholm at Hedvig Eleonora Church in June 2018.
Did Avicii have any children?
No. Since he died without a will, and was not married or with a child, his parents inherited all his wealth under the probate laws of Sweden.
Notable Avicii Tracks
- “For a Better Day“
- “Waiting for Love“
- “Peace of Mind“
- “Hold the Line“
- “Fades Away“
- “Heaven“
- “Heart Upon My Sleeve“
- “SOS“
- “Hey Brother“
- “Wake Me Up“
RIP my mentor