Singer Oliver Tree has died in a helicopter crash in Brazil, according to local reports.
Six people on board two helicopters above Rio de Janeiro were killed Sunday morning in a mid-air collision, firefighters confirmed.
Police said that Tree, a 32-year-old American musician and comedian, was named by aviation authorities as one of the passengers who was on board. Officials have not been able to identify the bodies of the people killed in the crash.
The Military Fire Department announced that one of the aircraft plummeted onto a car dealership, sparking a fire among parked electric vehicles, which was subsequently brought under control.
An official investigation has been launched to determine what caused the fatal crash.
TMZ and CNN Brazil both reported that Tree was on board one of the helicopters.
Representatives for Tree did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
Known for his bowl cut and bright-colored clothes, the California-based singer-songwriter rose to fame in the San Francisco Bay Area as a zany internet personality who produced dubstep and performed genre-blurring songs.
He debuted his first EP Demons in 2013 before going viral with his feature on Whethan’s 2016 song “When I’m Down.” After the song made the rounds on the internet, he signed with Atlantic Records in 2017.
Tree’s 2018 album Alien Boy cemented Tree’s place in the electronic music world, along with his retro 80s aesthetic that made him popular on YouTube.
In addition to “When I’m Down,” Tree was known for songs like “Life Goes On” and “Miss You.”
Most recently, Tree was on his headlining world tour for his fourth album, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly. In April, he surprised the crowd at Coachella during Subtronic’s headlining tent to debut their unreleased collaboration.
More to follow…
