Oliver Tree, the singer, director and record producer known for his hit songs “Life Goes On” and “Miss You,” with Robin Schulz, has passed away at 32 years old.
The artist was among six killed when two helicopters collided in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the Southwest zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday morning, the Associated Press and CNN Brazil reported.
Born Oliver Tree Nickell on June 29, 1993, in Santa Cruz, California, he rose to fame on Vine in 2016 with his alter ego “Turbo,” spoattirting his signature bowl cut, 80s attire, and an eccentric persona. That same year, he debuted his hit song, “When I’m Down,” which ultimately put him on the map and led to him signing with Atlantic Records in 2017.
He then released his debut studio album Ugly is Beautiful on July 17, 2020, which included the the RIAA gold and platinum-certified singles “Alien Boy”, “Hurt”, “Miracle Man”, and “Let Me Down”. He went on to release the subsequent albums Cowboy Tears (2022), Alone in a Crowd (2023), and his most recent, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly, which dropped in April. He also previously released an independent album, Splitting Branches, under his earlier alias “Tree” in 2013.
In addition to writing and producing his own music, he also directed his own music videos, injecting them with his signature brand of comedy and theatrics. Indeed, he spent five months practicing freestyle monster truck jumping at the Perris Auto Speedway and performed all his stunts in the “Alien Boy” music video. Some of his most popular music videos are “Life Goes On,” which has more than 464 million views on YouTube, and “Miss You,” which has 382 million-plus views on the video streaming platform.
On June 6, Tree performed in São Paulo, Brazil, as part of his world tour in support of his latest album, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly. He was next scheduled to play a show in Lisbon on July 1.
The other victims identified in the crash were three passengers, Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim, Lucas Vignale and Lucas Brito Chaves, and pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac, CNN Brazil reported. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision.
