Oliver Tree among six dead in helicopter crash in Rio de Janiero
Musician Oliver Tree is among six people to have died in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, local media have confirmed.
The tragedy occurred in Recreio dos Bandeirantes on June 14th, and has been confirmed by the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, per CNN Brazil. Tree, who was born Oliver Tree Nickell, was just 32.
CNN Brazil reports that fellow passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim, and Lucas Brito Chaves also lost their lives, as well as pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Prim was an Argentinian content creator, known as Gaspi, who had more than 2.8 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
According to the report, five of the casualties were in one helicopter, and only the pilot was in the other aircraft.
Tree recently performed in Sāo Paulo on June 6th, following dates in Argentina and Chile. The European leg of his world tour was due to begin in Lisbon, Portugal, next month.
The late singer rose to prominence in 2020 with his debut album Ugly is Beautiful, which charted at 14 on the Billboard Chart. It also spawned the hits song ‘Life Goes On’, a track which has been streamed more than 700 million times on Spotify alone.
His most recent album, Love You Madly Hate You Badly, arrived in April 2026. The record was shaped by his experiences of travelling the world with Tree, recording the album across seven continents and 82 countries.
“I was the only person who wrote and produced this album, I just did it across 80 different countries, seven different continents. I went to Antarctica twice to record this. I used my major label budget to be able to just travel and open up my travelling budgets,” Tree explained of the process while on Ari Shaffir’s podcast You Be Trippin’ earlier this year.
Only last month, Tree announced full details of a world tour, which kicked off in May. He was due to play across North America this summer, before a European leg later this year, including UK shows, as well as visits to Australia and New Zealand.
Tree, who took inspiration from Andy Kaufman, was also revered for the larger-than-life persona that he built around himself, which he used as a meta-tool to poke fun at the modern music industry.
During a conversation with Vanyaland in 2024, Tree lifted the lid on his artistry, explaining, “I make art for myself first and foremost when I’m creating. I need to be able to reinvent myself and feel inspired, and the goal of creating the Oliver Tree project was to never be pigeonholed as one thing.”
Tree added, “So I’ve always kind of kept my audience on their toes. And not every single thing is made for every single person, but there is something for everyone.”
The late musician was born in California, growing up in Santa Cruz and first started gaining attention in 2013 with a cover of Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’, which he released under the name of Tree. Then, in 2017, after signing with Atlantic Records, he began calling himself Oliver Tree and found success with his major label debut EP, Alien Boy, in 2018.
In total, Tree released four studio albums and also premiered a documentary following his most recent LP release, which captures the global recording process of the project, focusing on his time in Antarctica.
KSI, who collaborated with Tree on ‘Voices’ in 2023, has led the tributes, posting a series of photos of them together on X alongside a heartfelt eulogy. He wrote, “Can’t believe I’m actually having to type this. You’re 32 man. You should still be here. You still had so much life to live. So much music to make.”
KSI added, “So much content to make. You’re a legend and will always be a legend. Still doesn’t feel real. Genuinely feel sick. I love you bro”.
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