Oliver Tree, the musician and comedian behind viral pop hits “Alien Boy” and “Life Goes On,” has died. The Associated Press reported over the weekend (June 14) that Tree was onboard one of two helicopters that collided mid-air in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had been in Brazil to play shows as part of his "World's First World Tour". He was 32 years old.
One of the helicopters crashed into several electronic vehicles in a car dealership’s parking lot, igniting a fire that was later extinguished, according to local police and fire departments. All six people aboard the chopper were killed, including DJ and producer Lucas Brito Chaves, the YouTuber known as Gaspi (a 23-year-old who had more than 2.8 million followers), and independent director and screenwriter Lucas Vignale.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Oliver Tree music at Live365.com.
Born Oliver Tree Nickell on June 29, 1993, in Santa Cruz, California, the pop artist spent his early career producing dubstep and performing live in the San Francisco Bay Area. He started releasing music under the name "Tree" in 2010. Three years after putting out his first-ever EP, Demons, he went viral with the single “When I’m Down” — earning him a record deal with Atlantic. His official debut as Oliver Tree arrived in 2017 with “Welcome to LA,” alongside his soon-to-be signature look: an infamous bowl cut paired with a gaudy sweatsuit and bold, red sunglasses.
As he rolled out his major label debuts, the 2018 EP Alien Boy and the 2020 album Ugly Is Beautiful, Tree embraced increasingly wacky visuals that courted memes, often at his own expense. He went on to release three other studio albums: 2022’s Cowboy Tears, 2023’s Alone in a Crowd, and Love You Madly Hate You Badly from this past April.
With each release, he found success on the Billboard charts and social media platforms, be it through collaborations with Diplo and David Guetta, or his own singles “Cowboys Don’t Cry” and “Superhero.” Even outside of his music career, Tree remained an ambitious and creative individual, from bathing in a tub full of hot Cheetos for a laugh or setting the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest kick scooter in 2020.
“My goal is to just show people how to be themselves, how to embrace their imperfections and lean into it and be the best version of ourselves,” he told NPR back in 2023. “It's been three years of being sober and learning how to love yourself. You know, that’s the thing: we have so much anger in this world, and a lot of times people are just very unhappy with themselves, and then they take that out on others. So, so much of my goal is to be able to learn how to love myself and try to show people how to love themselves.”
As the news of his tragic death spread, a wide array of fellow musicians took to social media to pay tribute to the late artist, including Diplo, Flying Lotus, Kid Cudi, Bebe Rexha, Lil Yachty, and Andy Milonakis, among others. “It’s really hard to understand how someone who you once shared such a specific and formative time of your life with can all of a sudden be gone,” wrote Melanie Martinez, who previously dated Tree. “He was so dedicated to his art which I admired and respected so deeply. I think everyone who knew him will look back at those moments of laughter and joy he so easily sparked.”
Listen to some of Oliver Tree's greatest hits below.
Check out our selection of free stations streaming Oliver Tree music at Live365.com.
Rather listen on our app? Download the Live365 app on iOS or Android. Ready to start your own station? Contact one of our Product Consultants or visit our website today. Keep up with the latest news by following us on Facebook (Live365 (Official) and Live365 Broadcasting) and Twitter (@Live365 and @Broadcast365)! You can also shop Live365 swag and branded merchandise at store.live365.com.
Article Image: Close-up of Oliver Tree belting into a microphone during an early 2020 concert. (Bruce [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.)
.jpg?ref=live365.com){kind=link}