Oliver Heldens Considering Writing a Song in Tribute to Avicii
The music world was shocked and devastated last month when news hit that iconic producer and progressive house pioneer Tim Bergling, aka Avicii, had passed away. Since then, there has been an outpouring of love for Avicii and his larger than life legacy from both fans and artists alike.
As a way of doing just this, bass-house phenom Oliver Heldens has proposed the idea of possibly creating a song about, and in tribute to, Avicii. “I feel like writin a song about Avicii, but I don’t wanna disrespect anyone at the same time, so it’s prob gonna be some prog house, cause that’s Avicii to me: the best melodies.” Heldens stated on Twitter.
While we can totally respect his desire to do Avicii justice, if Heldens does decide make a song, we’re sure it’ll be a track that Tim would be proud of.
You can check out the original tweet below, and be on the lookout.
I feel like writin a song about Avicii, but I don’t wanna disrespect anyone at the same time, so it’s prob gonna be some prog house, cause that’s Avicii to me: the best melodies. I just dislike when people milk shit out like toothpaste in a small tube , some point it’s finished:(
— Oliver Heldens (@OliverHeldens) May 24, 2018
How Heldens Ended Up Honoring Avicii
A dedicated studio tribute track never materialized, at least not one that’s been publicly released. But Heldens has continued to honor Avicii’s memory in other ways over the years since this tweet. In July 2024, while opening Tomorrowland with a 2.5-hour daybreak set, Heldens played Avicii’s classic “Levels” during his set and got visibly emotional in the moment, later writing on Instagram that he’d gotten “a bit emotional” playing the track and calling it an honor to open the festival that way.
It’s a good reminder that tributes don’t always take the shape you expect. Heldens’ original instinct – not wanting to rush something out and risk it feeling exploitative – seems to have held up over time. Instead of a single track, what fans got was a genuine, spontaneous moment on one of the biggest stages in dance music, which in a lot of ways fits the spirit of what he was trying to avoid getting wrong back in 2018.
