YMMV / Avicii

• Awesome Music:
  • "Levels" is arguably one of the best EDM songs of all time. It has a catchy synth, a great beat drop, and euphoric vocals.
  • "Wake Me Up" starts a great acoustic guitar riff, and its strong synth gives it more momentum.
  • "Hey Brother" pulls off mixing Dan Tyminski bluegrass vocals with Avicii's synths.
  • "Silhouettes" has a hazy melody and ethereal vocals provided by Al Fakir which combines EDM and pop elements.
  • "What Would I Change It To" has great vocals from AlunaGeorge, backed up by a strong beat with some decent synth.
  • "Tough Love" is a great combination of EDM and Indian music.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The title of "Wake Me Up", after his sudden death in April 2018 at only 28. Even one of the lyrics counts: "Wish that I could stay forever this young".
  • Even though Rory Kramer gives the opening dialogue in "The Nights" music video, it's still pretty tear-jerking to hear after Avicii's death.
    Rory Kramer: When I was 16, my father said, 'You can do anything you want with your life. You just have to be willing to work hard to get it.' That's when I decided, when I die, I want to be remembered for the life I lived—not the money I made.
  • "Somewhere in Stockholm" arguably counts with lines such as "There's a black hole deep inside of me" and "Right where I was founded/ Is right where I'll be found dead". Sure, he wasn't found dead in Stockholm, but he was still found dead rather than passing away surrounded by friends and family.
  • "The Days" is an absolutely optimistic song, but the first lyrics include the line "We made a promise to never get old" and are about looking towards the happy moments in your life.
• Mainstream Obscurity: He's one of the biggest EDM names in the world, but mainstream audiences will be hard-pressed to name a song of his that isn't "Wake Me Up", with "The Nights" and "Levels" being possible exceptions.
• Memetic Mutation: Monday left me broken^Explanation A video of a cat with a human face edited on it singing the chorus of "Waiting for Love" became a popular meme on TikTok in 2023.
• Old Shame: He preferred his music released through Vicious to be counted as this.
• Posthumous Popularity Potential: Avicii mostly fell off the radar after his Sophomore Slump, but after his tragic suicide, his songs hopped back into the charts.
• Retroactive Recognition: Simu Liu can be seen as an office worker in the background of I Could Be The One's music video.
• Signature Song:
  • The EDM community mostly knows Avicii for "Levels". At one point, Bergling released a video titled "ENOUGH WITH LEVELS ALREADY!!!", trying to remind people that, as great as "Levels" is, he has other songs.
  • Among general music listeners, "Wake Me Up" holds this title, becoming a number one hit in much of Europe and peaking at number 4 in the United States. It was even used for a Google Doodle released on what would have been Bergling's 32nd birthday.
• Sophomore Slump: Stories was heavily criticized, with deadmau5 citing a lack of variety in its music. It also saw a considerable drop in sales compared to True, with the only song that got close to his previous hits being "Waiting for Love."
• Suspiciously Similar Song: The instrumental parts of "Wake Me Up" sounds pretty similar to the instrumental parts of Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains in California."

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