Oliver Tree, US singer and musician, killed in Brazil helicopter crash
An investigation into the cause of the collision is currently underway
Oliver Tree, the US singer-songwriter and producer known for viral hits such as 'Miss You' and 'Life Goes On', has died after being involved in a helicopter crash in Brazil.
As the BBC reports , the 32-year-old artist was travelling over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (14th June) when his aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with a second helicopter. All six people on board both aircraft were killed.
According to the Military Fire Department of the State of Rio de Janeiro, one of the helicopters subsequently crashed into the car park of a dealership, setting around 20 vehicles on fire. Authorities were called to the crash site at around 9AM local time (12PM BST).
Brazilian authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the collision.
Born in Santa Cruz, California in 1993, Tree, real name Oliver Tree Nickell, learned to play the piano as a child and by elementary school was writing and recording his own songs. In 2013, he signed to R&S sister imprint Apollo Records, where he released his debut EP ‘Demons’.
His major breakthrough came in 2016 with ‘When I’m Down’, a collaboration with producer Whethan that went viral online and helped introduce his colourful sound and persona to a wider mainstream audience.
Tree later signed to Atlantic Records and released his debut album ‘Ugly Is Beautiful ’in 2020, which featured the platinum-certified single ‘Hurt’. The record reflected his genre-blending sound, incorporating elements of EDM, electro-pop, country influences, and bass music.
Several of his tracks were later remixed by artists including Alok, who reworked his viral 2020 single ‘Life Goes On’. You can listen to the original version of the song below.
In 2024, Tree received a BRIT Awards International Song nomination alongside Robin Schulz for ‘Miss You’, which reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
Tree’s fourth studio album, ‘Love You Madly Hate You Badly’, came out earlier this year. He was in the middle of a world tour when the fatal collision happened.
Tributes have poured in from across the music industry, including DJ and producer Dillon Francis, who wrote on Instagram : “I still can’t believe this is real... we were planning on going on tour next year. I’m gonna miss you so much Oliver. You were a treasure to the music world. You were an inspiration to us all. Most of all you were a friend to us all.”
Zedd shared a photo with Tree on Instagram , captioned “Rest easy, brother,” while Flying Lotus wrote on X : “So sad to hear about Oliver Tree. Dude was a super kind, creative powerhouse and always made it a fun time.”
I’m in shock. I was in the middle of my cd signing in nyc when I found the news of Oliver tree. I can’t believe it. We recorded a record together to be on dirty blonde. He was so smart . Passionate. Talented. Kind. I’m so sad. May he rest in peace.
Sad to hear about Oliver Tree. Dude was a super kind, creative powerhouse and always made it a fun time.
Fuck man. Spoke to Oliver a few weeks ago. This is heartbreaking. A really amazing and beautiful human. This shit sucks bad. Sending all my prayers and love to the families dealing with losses. Oliver we love you, forever 🙏🏾❤️🔥 https://t.co/4O6R64Tnuk
Never will forget this lesson from Oliver or the time we had on @NBRadioPodcast Thanks for sharing your art and for always being different in the best way possible. See you on the brighter side 🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/42qRkBdEXO
