Oliver Tree’s Last Days in Brazil Were Full of Joy Before the Crash That Took His Life

The world is now rewatching the final moments Oliver Tree documented from Brazil, searching for comfort in footage that now carries the weight of goodbye. Before the 32-year-old singer-songwriter died in a midair helicopter collision over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning, he had been living it up on what was his very first trip to the country.

Fans flooded social media after news of his death broke, many finding themselves watching his last posts on a loop, struck by how alive and full of joy he appeared just hours before the crash.

Tree had been traveling through South America as part of what he called The World’s First World Tour, having performed in São Paulo on June 6 before making his way to Rio. He had also performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 4, working his way through the continent with shows that drew enthusiastic crowds. Brazil was shaping up to be a highlight, and he made sure the world knew it.

Brazilian influencer Iae Break, who hosted Tree during the visit, shared videos that gave fans a front-row seat to his first experience in Brazil. The clips showed the pair playing street soccer, riding bicycles through the city, getting haircuts, and cooking together. Tree captioned one of his own posts “Gringo 24 horas no Brasil”, which translates to “An American’s 24 Hours in Brazil”, with his signature song “Worth Nothing” playing in the background. The reel quickly racked up nearly 25 million views.

Neymar Jokes and World Cup Trophies

One standout moment from the trip was Tree hamming it up for the camera, jokingly calling himself Neymar after the legendary Brazilian football star. He was photographed holding a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy, grinning in the kind of carefree way that made his content impossible not to love. The clip became one of the most-shared snippets from his Brazil trip after his death was confirmed.

It was the kind of lighthearted, self-aware humor that Tree had built his entire brand on, blurring the line between musician, filmmaker, and internet personality. Outside of music, he was widely known for directing many of his own videos and creating viral content with a consistently absurdist edge. He also held a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest kick scooter, which perhaps best summarises who he was as a creative force.

Tree’s ability to be genuinely funny without ever seeming try-hard was one of the qualities fans and peers consistently pointed to. The Brazil content, in hindsight, felt like a natural conclusion to a body of work built entirely on curiosity and connection.

What Happened on Sunday Morning

Two helicopters collided midair above an electric vehicle yard in the southwest of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning, killing all six people aboard both aircraft. Tree and four other passengers, Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim, Lucas Brito Chaves, and pilot Alexandre Souza, were aboard one helicopter, while pilot Charles Marsillac was flying the second aircraft alone.

One of the helicopters crashed into the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked, setting off a fire that was eventually extinguished. A witness at the scene, tire repair worker Fernandes de Freitas, described seeing one of the helicopters in flames and watching as one passenger jumped from the other aircraft before it struck the ground, calling the scene “terrifying, absolutely horrifying.” An investigation is currently underway to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim Díaz, widely known as Gaspi, was also confirmed to have been in the helicopter. He had more than 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube and was just 23 years old at the time of his death. The streaming channel Blender, which worked with Gaspi, paid tribute on social media, saying fans would miss his art, magic, and sensibility.

A Tour Cut Short, A Legacy Left Behind

At the time of his death, Tree was in the middle of The World’s First World Tour. He had performed in São Paulo on June 6 and was scheduled to continue the run with a show in Lisbon on July 13. The crash ended what had been shaping up to be one of the most ambitious chapters of his career. His most recent album, Love You Madly Hate You Badly, had only been released in April 2026.

Tree’s songs “Life Goes On” and “Miss You” became global hits, and his videos accumulated more than a billion combined views on YouTube. He had released four studio albums, beginning with Alien Boy in 2018 and closing with his final record just weeks before his death. His sound was hard to pin down; electro-pop, rock influence, comedy, and sincerity all wrapped together in a way that earned him fans across wildly different audiences.

Tributes poured in almost immediately after the news broke. Actor and comedian Whitney Cummings described Tree as one of the most talented people on earth, writing that he was “pure love and the best version of what an artist and a person can and should be,” and adding that there was no silver lining to the loss. British influencer and musician KSI also posted a tribute, writing that Tree was only 32 and still had “so much music to make, so much content to make.”

Grief Pours In From Every Corner

Singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez, who previously dated Tree, shared a deeply personal tribute on Instagram, describing him as someone who was completely dedicated to his art and who had an ability to lead creatively while maintaining a sense of childlike wonder. She described his laugh as “contagious and warm” and called him a true artist in every sense of the phrase.

Iae Break, who had spent Tree’s final days in Brazil with him, laughing in front of cameras, later posted a tribute with a caption that needed no translation in spirit: “I can’t believe you guys are gone.” The comment section on their shared video, once full of curious new fans, became a memorial wall of its own, with messages of disbelief and grief pouring in from around the world.