Rita Ora held back tears as she admitted that Avicii changed her life during an emotional tribute on stage.
The Swedish DJ, whose real name was Tim Bergling, was found dead on April 20 at the age of 28.
Since the news of his death broke, many celebrities have paid tribute to the famed producer, most recently Rita Ora – who collaborated with the DJ on her track ‘Lonely Together’.
Performing during celebrations for King’s Day in the Netherlands on Friday, the singer told the crowd, “It’s gonna be hard for me to sing this next song and I’ll tell you why.”
Kippenvel! Tijdens #538Koningsdag kreeg een huilende @RitaOra 40.000 mensen stil voor haar goede vriend Avicii. ???? pic.twitter.com/k1WTEjcAEE
— 538 (@538) April 28, 2018
“I had the honour of collaborating with someone who changed my life and he was a really good friend of mine,” she continued.
“I heard some DJs playing some of his music earlier, and I haven’t sang his song that we did together ever since he passed away, until today. It’s going to be very hard for me to sing this next song.”
“I’m obviously talking about the incredible Avicii. We collaborated on the last song that he released together, and so it’s going to be very tough for me to sing this next one.”
Rita then asked the crowd to join her in a minute of silence, adding that he was “one of my dearest friends and I would really appreciate that”.
The news comes after Avicii’s family released a statement admitting that he couldn’t “go on any longer”.Â
