The late Swedish record producer left behind a legacy of chart-topping music that he produced for himself and other artists.
- Apr 21, 2018
AceShowbiz - Avicii, whose birth name was Tim Bergling, was found dead on April 20, just days after he was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic album at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. Many of his fans are mourning his death, so it comes as no surprise that they are turning to his music for comfort.
The late Swedish record producer, who began his music career in 2009, left behind a legacy of chart-topping music that he produced for himself and other artists. During his career in the music industry, he collaborated with a slew of great musicians such as Chris Martin of Coldplay, Madonna and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
As fans continue mourning the death of the DJ, here's a look back at some of his most iconic songs.
1. 'Levels' (2011)
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Avicii may be best known for his electronic dance music hit "Levels", which many critics considered to be one of the greatest EDM songs of all time. Containing a vocal sample from "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James, the track topped dance music charts in Sweden and United States. The song also earned him a Grammy nomination.
The song has been remixed by several musicians such as Skrillex and Cazzette and was featured in the pilot of TV series "Arrow". Furthermore, the single was used as the theme song at the 2012 Miss Universe swimsuit competition.
2. 'Silhouettes' (2012)
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Despite being leaked on the internet, "Silhouettes" featuring Salem Al Fakir still received a lot of praises from fans and music critics. It was certified triple platinum in Sweden and Gold in Australia. Avicii previously talked about the inspiration of the song in an interview.
"Some people get inspired by a feeling, but I'm mostly inspired by melodies," he said. "The person who co-produced the track with me is incredible. We took as much of that as we could and tried to make it dance-friendly and something different from what is on the charts now."
3. 'Wake Me Up' (2013)
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Avicii further gained popularity when he released "Wake Me Up" on June 17. The song was included in his first album "True". Described as a "summer anthem" by critics, it topped several music charts in the Europe and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It even went platinum six times in the U.S.
Due to the huge success of the track, Aloe Blacc, who was featured on the song, released an acoustic version of the track. Lea Michele also performed a cover of the track in the season 5 of "Glee". Canadian country singer Tebey also recorded a country version of the song.
4. 'You Make Me' (2013)
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Avicii once again collaborated with Salem for the second single off his debut album, "You Make Me". The song was released on August 30 and debuted at No. 5 the U.K. Singles chart. It also debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Dance chart, dethroning "Wake Me Up". Furthermore, it was certified Gold in the United States.
The song was used in the advertising campaign for TV documentary series "Freshers". A year after its release, "You Make Me" was featured in the Spotify commercial "Can't Find the Words?".
5. 'Hey Brother' (2013)
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"Hey Brother" served as the third single off his album and received similar success as the two previous singles. It peaked at No. 2 on U.K. Singles chart and peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was his final song to hit the top 40 on the chart before his death.
Avicii himself said that the song was his favorite track on his first album. "It's funny how that all happened since I never thought that I would be dabbling in that genre of music," he said of the song. "It's a big world out there and there is room for all kinds of music."
