NEW YORK (AP) — Oliver Tree, the eccentric American musician known for viral stunts, alt-pop tracks like “Alien Boy” and “Life Goes On,” and his unconventional style, died in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro on June 14. He was 32.Representatives for Tree directed The Associated Press to an official confirmation posted to Tree’s Instagram account.“Rest in peace Oliver Tree Nickell June 29, 1993 — June 14, 2026. Your legacy will live on forever,” the caption read next to a slideshow of images reflecting Tree’s life and career.“His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon. This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing, written in his will,” the caption continued. “We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish.”
On the morning of June 14, two helicopters collided and crashed in the Brazilian city’s Western zone, killing all six people aboard, firefighters said. Police confirmed that Tree was on the list of passengers given to aviation authorities. Argentine streaming channel Blender said that content creator Gaspar Prim Díaz, known as Gaspi, was also in one of the helicopters.Tree was in the middle of his world tour at the time, which kicked off in Mexico City on May 30 and was scheduled to hit all seven continents.
