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15 Facts You Should Know About Avicii

The 28-year-old DJ died earlier today.

Syd Robinson
by Syd Robinson

BuzzFeed Staff

Earlier today, Avicii (born Tim Bergling) tragically died at 28 years old. The world-famous DJ was behind such electronic hits as "Levels," "Wake Me Up," and "Hey Brother." Here are some other facts you may not have known about Avicii.

1. He co-founded the charity House for Hunger.

House for Hunger

His 2012 House for Hunger tour raised awareness for world hunger, as well as donated $1 million in gig fees to Feeding America.

2. He was the first DJ to ever headline Radio City Music Hall.

Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

His show was on September 26, 2012.

3. His most recent album, Avīci (01), was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Album at this year's upcoming Billboard Music Awards.

Tim Bergling @Avicii

Thanks for the nomination! 🙏 @billboard #BBMAS

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The Billboard Music Awards will be live on May 20, exactly a month from today.

4. He chose his stage name because a friend told him "Avīci" means the lowest tier of Buddhist hell.

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5. Bergling stylized it as "Avicii" after the MySpace account name "Avici" was already taken, adding the extra 'i'.

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Bergling talks about creating his stage name in his VEVO interview called Becoming Avicii.

6. He cowrote and coproduced Coldplay's song "A Sky Full of Stars".

Parlophone

7. He also coproduced their song "Hymn for the Weekend".

Parlophone

8. His first big hit was "Levels" back in 2011.

Universal Music Group

You either have some serious party memories to this song, or you've heard it randomly somewhere else. It is, quite honestly, INESCAPABLE.

9. When he reached two and three million fans on his Facebook fanpage, he released his songs "Two Million" and "Three Million".

Afp Contributor / AFP / Getty Images

10. He was nominated for Best Dance Recording for "Levels" in 2013.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Here he is with his former manager Ash Pournouri at a pre-Grammys gala in 2013.

11. He brought out a stomping bluegrass band for his performance of "Wake Me Up" at Ultra Music Festival in 2013.

View this video on YouTube
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The bluegrass band comes in at 1:56.

12. Mike Posner, who cowrote "Stay With You" with Bergling, gave him a shoutout in his song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza."

NBC

In the song, Posner sings "I took a pill in Ibiza / to show Avicii I was cool." Posner had been cowriting "Stay With You" with Bergling that same week. He later told Billboard: "I was working with Avicii in Sweden, and it was ice cold — so when he had a gig in Ibiza, I flew down there. He played a song he had written that week, and people liked it. I'm an artist — I'm insecure and a bit narcissistic, so I'm feeling a little jealous. Then these people recognized me. People don't usually know who I am, so that felt good. When they were like, 'You want one of these?,' and offered me this plastic baggie, I said, 'Sure, man.'"

13. He had a dog named Liam who he loved very, very much.

14. He frequently posted doppelgängers of himself on his Instagram.

15. He retired from performing in 2016 for health reasons.