9 of Avicii's Top Genre-Spanning Collaborations (VIDEOS)

Avicii

The music industry as a whole suffered a great loss following the death of Swedish dance music producer/DJ Avicii. At only 28 years old, Avicii - real name Tim Bergling - had so much more amazing music left to give.

Anyone who has followed Avicii's career can see the tremendous growth he underwent, musically, and as an artist. As a young 20-something who gave the world songs like "Levels" (one of the biggest, most nostalgic dance floor anthems), he went on to collaborate with so many artists across so many genres. His music catalogue goes beyond dance music and trickles into pop, country, and more.

Remember Avicii by taking a look at some of his best genre-spanning collaborations below, and make sure to listen to iHeartRadio's Essential Dance playlist featuring Avicii.

"Broken Arrows" featuring Zac Brown

"Broken Arrows" is from Avicii's second album Stories, and features country star Zac Brown. Back in March 2016, the DJ told iHeartRadio during an interview of the collab: 

"I wanted to work with him for a while actually. But my manager started telling me about him two and a half years ago, and I started kinda listening to his stuff, and I came in through there. Then it was just about finding a songs. Over time I became a really big fan of Zac and his voice in particular for Country. And I had a lot of other Country songs, but they didn't feel right because they felt like they almost sounded too commercial in a way. 'Broken Arrows' is also still a bit pop-y, but it sounded really real, especially when I got back his first recording, [it] was just so organic. It just worked straight away, and it sounded better actually than I wanted to sound."

Zac remembered working with Avicii on Twitter, writing, "It was an honor to be able to work with an artist like @Avicii. A talent like his will truly be missed."

"Collide" featuring Leona Lewis

This song may not have intended to end up this way, but here it is. What is known as "Collide" today was actually the result of a lawsuit. Avicii had actually accused Leona Lewis and her label of plagiarism and that they sampled his song "Penguin" without his permission. The song as we know it today is performed by Leona and written by Tim Berg, Simon Jeffes, Arash Pournouri, Autumn Rowe, Sandy Wilhelm, with production helmed by Wilhelm under his production name Sandy Vee and The Young Boys. The end result is, "Collide."

"Lonely Together" featuring Rita Ora

One of Avicii's most recent collaborations, "Lonely Together" (featuring Rita Ora) appears on his latest EP, Avīci (01). Rita had tweeted after the news of Avicii's death hit, "I have no words. I remember how amazing it was to make Lonely Together and it felt like just yesterday we were talking. Condolences to Avicii's family, friends, and the fans who supported him. May he rest in peace. Gone too soon. I’m devastated. Heartbroken."

"Lay Me Down" featuring Adam Lambert & Nile Rodgers

"Lay Me Down" not only features pop singer/songwriter Adam Lambert on vocals but also the legendary Nile Rodgers on guitar. The song appears on Avicii's debut album, True, and was actually featured in a 2014 commercial for Lipton Ice Tea. Adam said on Twitter of making the song, "RIP Tim. You were a brilliant composer and a gentle spirit. Fond memories of creating music w @Avicii and @nilerodgers." And Nile tweeted, "Dear Tim your family have my most heartfelt condolences. You were my little bro. Love always."

"Divine Sorrow" fearuing Wyclef Jean 

Avicii was no stranger to charity, but he teamed up with Wyclef Jean for a good cause. Procedes from "Divine Sorrow" went to benefit the Global Fund, which helps to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as provides HIV prevention, testing, counseling, treatment, and more. The track was actually a part of Coca-Cola and (RED)'s Share the Sound of an AIDS Free Generation campaign.

"Wake Me Up" featuring Aloe Blacc

One of Avicii's biggest songs, "Wake Me Up" is the lead single from the DJ's album True, and features singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc. The DJ first introduced fans to this song during Ultra Music Festival in Miami, which initially received mixed reactions from fans after hearing the new direction he was going in. During an interview with iHeartRadio in 2013, Tim told us of the experience, "Even after Ultra, when we initially got a lot of people saying, 'You know what the f**k? What’s happening?' You know, 'country music doesn’t go with house,' and those initial reactions. We kind of knew that once those people just get over the fact that it's country or jazz or blues influence. When they listen to it like music, they are going to realize that it’s not as bad as they think."

Aloe Blacc said of Bergling on Twitter, "My heartfelt condolences to Tim's family and close friends. I can't express how deeply sad I am. Meeting him changed my life. He was an amazingly talented person and it hurts so bad that he's gone."

"Superlove" featuring Lenny Kravitz

"Superlove" originally appeared on Lenny Kravitz's Black and White America in 2011, but was later remixed by Avicii in 2012. Lenny is no stranger to funky dance music, but this Avicii collab takes it to the next level.

"Taste The Feeling" featuring Conrad Sewell

Released in 2016, Avicii teamed up with Australian singer/songwriter Conrad Sewell on "Taste The Feeling," which is a promotional song for Coca-Cola's campaign and was the soundtrack to Coke's UEFA Euro 2016 campaign, in addition to its 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics campaign. Conrad shared on Twitter of working with Avicii, "Had the pleasure of working with this genius & innovator. thank you for all the love and joy you brought to the world with your unbelievable talent."

"Hey Brother" featuring Dan Tyminski

"Hey Brother" was another country-inspired track that features bluegrass artist Dan Tyminski.  

Photo: Getty Images


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