Swedish DJ Avicii is dead at the age of 28.
I’m Jeff and this is Plain English, the podcast that goes at just the right speed for English language learners. On today’s episode, Tim Bergling, the electronic dance music DJ better known as Avicii, was found dead in Oman. Avicii had retired from touring since the touring lifestyle took its toll on his health. And in the second half of the program, I’ll show you how to use that phrase, “take its toll.”
Today is April 26, 2018 and this is episode 41. That means that you can read a transcript of today’s program online at PlainEnglish.com/41. Each transcript also features instant translations of difficult words and phrases from English to Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and French. If one of those is your first language, then I think you’ll like reading the interactive transcripts online. PlainEnglish.com/41.
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Let’s get started on today’s main topic.
DJ Avicii found dead in Oman
The Swedish DJ Avicii, whose given name was Tim Bergling, died last Friday at the age of 28. He was found dead in the city of Muscat, Oman, in the Middle East. The cause of death was not released.
Avicii is the electronic dance music, or EDM, star behind the hit songs “Wake Me Up,” “Hey, Brother” and “Levels.” Put together, those three songs have been streamed on Spotify over a billion times. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for best dance recording in 2012 and 2013.
Avicii’s career took off in a big way with the release of the song “Levels” in 2011. He followed that up with his first studio album called True, which came out in 2013 and included the hit song “Wake Me Up.” That song became a number 1 hit in many countries and got to Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. His second album called Stories came out in 2015 and featured contributions from Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Brandon Flowers, and Gavin DeGraw, among others. He released his final album in 2017.
As much as he was known for his albums, he was also a tireless performer. And his performances were famous. He headlined Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, among other high-profile festivals. At his height on tour, he performed 300 shows in just two years—almost one show every-other day for two years. At one point, Avicii was the world’s sixth-highest-paid DJ, making about $19 million dollars per year.
But the tour schedule and tour lifestyle took a toll on his health. His grueling schedule was one reason for his rather surprising retirement from performing at the age of 27, just a couple of years ago. He suffered from pancreatic disease, which was most likely the result of excessive drinking. He was forced to cancel shows in 2014 after several surgeries. He was hospitalized twice in 2013.
In early 2016, he retired from live performances entirely, saying in an emotional letter to fans that he needed to make a change that he had been struggling to make for a while. He said the lifestyle change he needed was to not going on tour any longer. He said it was something he had to do for his health and that while he liked performing, all the other things about being on tour did not come naturally to him. He described himself as an introverted person and said that during his tours, he took on too much negative energy. He said that being on tour didn’t leave enough room for the “life of a real person behind the artist.”
A documentary came out earlier this year called “True Stories,” which shed some more light on the potential negative energy that would come from this lifestyle. The documentary shows the dark side of performing on tour—how the artist has to deal with agents, tour managers, publicists, and the whole ecosystem of people around a musical tour. The film shows Avicii dreaded his live performances because of all the stress.
At the time of his retirement, Avicii promised that he would continue making music in the studio, which was his true passion and purpose. He said he was worried that he would seem ungrateful to his fans, but that his fans, friends, and other artists were broadly supportive.
The music world was shocked by his death last week, more than two years after his surprise retirement. Fans and other musicians reacted on social media. His former manager said he was “raw talent” and “one in a billion.” The president of the record label Geffen Records said Avicii’s talent was to get people to dance and experience strong emotions during his shows.
Singer Adam Lambert said he was a “brilliant composer and a gentle spirit.” DJ Snake said he was “a legend” and Imagine Dragons said “the world was a happier and fuller place with his presence and art.”
I want to say hi and thank you to a couple of listeners today who sent me notes on Facebook. First of all, Carlos from Guatemala City, Guatemala, wrote to say he works at a call center and talks to Canadians every day on the phone, so Plain English is helping him at work. He said he only listens to podcasts in English and that this is his favorite one. Muchas gracias Carlos!
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Couple more — Christopher from Brazil, David from Colombia, and Sergio from right here in the United States. Thanks to all of you for saying hi and for being in the growing Plain English audience. It’s so nice to hear the different ways people use this podcast in their English studies.
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