As Jacobsen puts it, “spectacular death’ is a death that has for all practical intents and purposes been transformed into a spectacle. It is something that we witness at a safe distance but hardly every experience upfront” (Jacobsen, 2016, p. 10). This period of ‘spectacular death’ is characterized by an expanding public fascination with celebrity death. 

The death of Avicii – Tim Bergling – is an example of a “spectacular death”. Avicii took his own life on April 20th, 2018, in Oman. Although Avicii was still making music in the period before he died, he retired from playing live in 2016. 

Since we live in the 21st century, news can be shared very quickly and easily via the Internet. Because of this, right after Avicii passed away, many celebrities (Calvin Harris, Madonna, Rita Ora, marshmello, etcetera) posted tweets about Avicii’s passing to pay their respects. 

A few months after his death, fans joined his family in a church in Stockholm to pay tribute to Avicii. At Tomorrowland, in 2018, multiple tributes were paid to Avicii; “a massive Swedish flag with Bergling’s image imprinted on it […] was spread out in the crowd during Nicky Romero’s set. Meanwhile, a heart shaped tribute to the ‘Wake Me Up’ producer was also displayed.” In the months after Avicii’s passing, many of his colleagues (DJ’s) played his music in their sets. This desire to publicly celebrate and commemorate a person’s death is characteristic of the ‘spectacular death’. 

A few months have passed since his death, but Avicii’s family is making sure that his music does not go unheard. Universal Music announced the release of the new album "TIM", with music that Avicii had nearly completed when he died in April. “His collaborators picked up where he left off ‘to get as close to his vision’ as possible.” "Since Tim's passing, the family decided not to keep the music locked away – instead they wanted to share it with his fans all around the world" (CBS News). Avicii’s death and the attention given to it by the media led to a new appreciation of his music, and because of this an increase in sales. Because of this, Avicii’s death has become commercialized.

DJ Mag Staff. (2018, July 23). Multiple Avicii Tributes at Tomorrowland Honour The Latest EDM Star. 

Jacobsen, M. J. (2016). ‘Spectacular Death’. Proposing a new fifth phase to Philippe Ariès’s admirable history of death, in Humanities 5:2 1-20. 

Lewis, S. (2019, April 6). Avicii’s new album “TIM” will be released in June. 

NME. (2018, June 13) Avicii’s death reported as suicide after family say: “He could not go on any longer”