Summary
- Oliver Tree, the American alternative musician known for “Life Goes On,” “Miss You” and “Alien Boy,” has died at 32 after a helicopter collision over Rio de Janeiro on June 14
- Tree was aboard one of two helicopters that collided mid-air over the western suburb of Recreio dos Bandeirantes, crashing into the car park of an electric car dealership and setting ablaze approximately 20 cars. There were no survivors
- He was in Brazil as part of a world tour on which he was due to play more than 70 shows across 30 countries on seven continents
Oliver Tree, the American alternative singer and internet personality, has died at the age of 32. Two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning, June 14, crashing in the city’s western suburb of Recreio dos Bandeirantes and killing all six people onboard, according to multiple Brazilian media outlets. Tree, who was in Brazil as part of a world tour, was listed on the passenger manifest of one of the aircraft, a police source told AFP. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision.
The two helicopters collided mid-air before plummeting into the car park of an electric car dealership, setting ablaze approximately 20 cars. Rio de Janeiro’s military fire department said the blaze was subsequently extinguished. One helicopter was carrying five people, the other only its pilot. There were no survivors. The passengers aboard Tree’s helicopter included a Brazilian music producer, an Argentine video director and Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi. The victims could not be formally identified at the time of reporting due to the severity of the fire.
Tree performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina on June 4 and, on the day before the crash, shared a video on his Instagram playing football in a Brazilian neighbourhood. He was due to play more than 70 shows across 30 countries on seven continents during the world tour.
Known for his distinctive bowl haircut and deliberately eccentric internet persona, Tree built a following of more than 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with his top songs streamed more than 700 million times. His best-known tracks include “Life Goes On,” “Miss You” and “Alien Boy.” In 2024 he received a Brit Award nomination for International Song alongside German producer Robin Schulz for “Miss You,” which peaked at number three on the UK singles chart. In 2020 he broke the Guinness World Record for the largest kick scooter at 4.16 metres tall and 3.13 metres long, an achievement the Guinness website noted was undertaken to “fulfil a lifelong dream.”
