Avicii, EDM producer and DJ, dead at 28

Avicii, the Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ who performed sold-out concerts for feverish fans around the world and also had massive success on U.S. pop radio, died Friday. He was 28.

Publicist Diana Baron said in a statement that the Swedish performer, born Tim Bergling, was found dead in Muscat, Oman.

"It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii," the statement read.

"The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given."

Avicii was an international pop star, performing his well-known electronic dance songs around the world for feverish fans, sometimes hundreds of thousands at the music festivals, where he was the headline act.

His popular sound even sent him to the top of the charts and was heard on U.S. radio: His most recognized song, Wake Me Up, was a multi-platinum success and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. On the dance charts, he had seven Top 10 hits.

In 2016, the performer announced he was retiring from the road, but continued to produce songs and albums.

Award-winner, EDM hitmaker

He was part of the wave of DJ-producers, like David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, who broke out on the scene as lead performers in their own right, earning international hits, fame, awards and more like typical pop stars.

He earned his first Grammy nomination at the 2012 show, for a collaboration with Guetta. It was around that time he gained more fans for the Etta James-sampled dance jam, "Le7els," which reached No. 1 in Sweden.

Avicii continued to collaborate with more high-profile acts, producing Madonna's Devil Pray and the Coldplay hits A Sky Full of Stars and Hymn for the Weekend.

All told, he was nominated for two Grammy Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards and one Billboard Music Award.

His death comes just days after he was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic album for his EP Avicii (01). He was nominated alongside his peers, who have taken EDM mainstream of late — The Chainsmokers, Harris and Kygo.

He is the subject of the 2017 Levan Tsikurishvil documentary Avicii: True Stories.

Avicii built a strong musical and personal friendship with Nile Rodgers, who called Avicii his "little brother" in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday.

"I'm shocked because I don't know medically what happened, but I can just say as a person, as a friend, and more importantly, as a musician, Tim was one of the greatest, natural melody writers I've ever worked with, and I've worked with some of the most brilliant musicians on this planet," Rodgers said.

Health struggles

Avicii had in the past suffered from acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. After having his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014, he cancelled a series of shows in attempt to recover. He quit touring in 2016, but continued making music in the studio.

"It's been a very crazy journey," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. "I started producing when I was 16. I started touring when I was 18. From that point on, I just jumped into 100 per cent.

"When I look back on my life, I think: 'Whoa, did I do that?' It was the best time of my life in a sense. It came with a price — a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety for me — but it was the best journey of my life."

Rodgers said his last performance with Avicii — about three years ago — upset him because of Avicii's drinking.

"It was a little bit sad to me because he had promised me he would stop drinking, and when I saw him he was drunk that night. And I was like, 'Whoa. Dude. C'mon. What are you doing? What's going on? You said that that was done,"' Rodgers recalled. "We did a show and I was a little upset. I didn't even stick around for his performance because it was breaking my heart. But we still had a great time. It was wonderful — we were that close."

We lost a friend with such a beautiful heart and the world lost an incredibly talented musician- David Guetta, musician

Last year, Avicii posted this message on his website, promising to keep creating: "The next stage will be all about my love of making music to you guys. It is the beginning of something new."

Muscat, where Avicii died, is the capital of the sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and is a popular vacation destination on the Arabian Sea. 

'One of Sweden's biggest musicians'

Sweden's Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, who knew Avicii from playing at their wedding, said they were saddened by his death.

"We are grateful that we got to know him and admired him as an artist and the great person he was. He made our wedding unforgettable with his amazing music. Our warmest thoughts go to his family," they said in a joint statement.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven called the lost star "one of Sweden's biggest musicians."

Fans, friends and colleagues were shocked at his sudden passing on Friday and quickly began posting tributes online.

"Something really horrible happened. We lost a friend with such a beautiful heart and the world lost an incredibly talented musician," Guetta wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for your beautiful melodies, the time we shared in the studio, playing together as djs or just enjoying life as friends. RIP Avicii."

Calvin Harris called Avicii "a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do."

Ellie Goulding wrote that Avicii "inspired so many of us. Wish I could have said that to you in person."

One Direction's Liam Payne and Dua Lipa also tweeted about the performer, as did many others in the music industry.