“Hey Brother” by Avicii Surpasses 1 Billion Spotify Streams

Avicii’s 2013 single “Hey Brother” is the late DJ and producer’s fifth track to hit one billion streams on Spotify.

Long after his untimely passing, Avicii‘s body of work continues to reach new milestones. The latest is the late DJ and producer’s 2013 single “Hey Brother” having been streamed over a billion times on the music streaming platform Spotify.

“Hey Brother” was one of the first tracks in which Avicii (real name Tim Bergling) combined elements of EDM with folk music — a polarizing move at the time. The years were nonetheless kind to Bergling’s inventive fusion of styles, earning him the legacy of a dance music trailblazer and visionary.

Four other Avicii tracks have already surpassed one billion Spotify streams. “Wake Me Up,” another folk-tinged anthem that accompanied “Hey Brother” on Bergling’s 2014 album True, became the first Swedish song to reach two billion Spotify streams in August 2023.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of True, “Hey Brother” vocalist reminisced on working with Bergling in a video interview. “I fell in love with the song immediately, as soon as I heard it,” he said. “…I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to record something that’s reached farther into the corners of the earth than ‘Hey Brother.’”

Following mental health struggles that came to overshadow the runaway success of early singles like “Seek Bromance” and “Levels,” Bergling ceased touring in 2016. He was then found dead in Muscat, Oman in 2018 at age 28 of an apparent suicide.

Earlier this month, Bergling’s former girlfriend, Emily Goldberg, also passed away. She had battled cancer and apparently come out victorious but then died of a pulmonary embolism at age 34.

At this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from June 5-16, a documentary on Avicii directed by Henrik Burman is slated to premiere.