The body of 32-year-old American singer Oliver Tree, who died in a collision between two helicopters in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on June 14, has been identified, Brazilian police told USA Today. The news of Tree’s death managed to spark discussions on social networks that it could have been a prank on the part of the artist, known for humor in his work, or was allegedly set up by the record company Atlantic Records, which he had previously criticized.
As RTVI.US reported, Tree's death was initially reported by Brazilian media with reference to the list of passengers on the helicopter, which included the full name of the California-born musician, Oliver Tree Nickell. In addition to Tree, the list included Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim (Gaspi), his compatriot, director Lucas Vignale, and Brazilian music producer Lucas Brito Chavez. In addition to them, two helicopter pilots, Alexandre Souza and Charles Marcillac, were also killed.
On Thursday, Rio de Janeiro police confirmed that the identification process for all six people killed in the crash had been completed, with Tree's body being the last to be identified. Law enforcement officials did not specify whether his family arrived in Brazil for this purpose. The musician’s mother, Christine Begin Nickell, commented on his death for the first time on Thursday, June 18, on her Facebook page, posting a photo of her son in his youth.
“Our dear son Oliver, you have made this world a better place. Rest in peace,” Nickell wrote.
Immediately after the news of Tree's death, fans on X (formerly Twitter) and other social networks remembered his video for the song Flowers, where Tree appeared on a ramp leading to nowhere between two helicopters and danced in front of them. At the end of the song there was a phrase about laying flowers at his grave. Some perceived the video as prophetic, while other Internet users suspected Tree of faking her death.
Content creators on social media also took notice of Tree's criticism of Atlantic Records, which released his music. A month and a half before his death, the artist announced on Instagram that the release of his new album Love You Madly Hate You Badly was canceled, and the publishing house allegedly forgot to release a single for Valentine’s Day and was not giving money for new videos.
Three's publication was made on April 1, but the album was ultimately released by the artist's own Alien Boy label, rather than Atlantic Records. Tree also repeated his criticism of the publishing house in the middle of that month, noting that it insisted that he create “songs for TikTok”, and therefore the cooperation was terminated.
Known for the hits Life Goes On and Miss You, Tree arrived in Brazil for concerts in support of Love You Madly Hate You Badly and performed in Sao Paulo on June 6 shortly before his death. His tour was planned months in advance – in July he was supposed to start performing in Europe and the USA, and in the fall he was going to go to Australia and China.
The news has been updated – information has been added about the publication of Mother Tree on social networks.
