Singer Oliver Tree Among Those Killed in Helicopter Crash in Rio de Janeiro
Joy Ale
June 16, 2026
Picture Credit: Yahoo
Oliver Tree, the Santa Cruz-born singer and internet personality known for his distinctive bowl cut and oversized 1980s aesthetic, has died following a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was on the list of passengers provided to aviation authorities, according to police, though official identification of the victims was still underway at the time of reporting.
Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department said one of the helicopters involved in the crash came down in the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked. The impact sparked a fire that emergency crews responded to at the scene. An investigation into the cause of the collision is underway.
Tree had been active in South America in the days before the crash. He performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 4 June and posted a video of himself playing football in a Brazilian neighborhood to Instagram on Saturday, the day before the crash.
Tree built his following on the now-defunct platform Vine in 2016 through his alter ego Turbo, a character defined by oversized vintage clothing and deadpan humor that translated quickly into a loyal online audience. He released his first hit song When I’m Down that same year and signed with Atlantic Records in 2017. He went on to release four studio albums, the most recent of which, Love You Madly Hate You Badly, came out in April 2026. He was also known for the song Miss You, a collaboration with German DJ Robin Schulz, which reached wide international audiences.
Beyond music, Tree worked as a director and record producer and maintained a persona that blurred the line between sincerity and performance in a way that proved distinctly suited to the internet era.
