Avicii Honored by New York's Madame Tussauds With Wax Figure of Late DJ

"One of the most iconic musicians of our generation"

"We are always looking to create those celebrities who have made a significant impact on their field, and I think that it's easy to see that Avicii is one of the most iconic musicians of our generation," NY Madame Tussauds manager Tom Middleton said in a statement to Billboard. "For us, it was the perfect opportunity in conjunction with his family to really celebrate his life and his career and allow guests to relive some of this icon's most notable performances."

How Avicii's wax figure came to be

According to Middleton, the spot-on resemblance is largely due to the fact that designers studied pictures of the musician for hours to capture Avicii at as many angles possible and worked alongside the performer's parents, Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén, to honor their son.

"It was honestly a real pleasure working with them," Middleton said. "They were fantastic. They were really involved and engaged every step of the way, from the initial conversations of 'Yes, we would love to be able to do this to celebrate his life,' all the way through to when the first clay sculpts were done, the first paint job and to the final product."

An Immersive Experience

Avicii's death hit the music world hard, and the figure is a way to honor the young artist who left a lasting impact on the EDM genre. Fans can now climb behind the DJ booth with the performer to snap a picture in what is being dubbed an immersive experience.

"It will include clips and sound from some of his most iconic shows, whether that's him playing in front of thousands of people at Tomorrowland, or him playing at smaller venues," Middleton explained. "[We want to] allow our guests to sort of relive that, bring it to life with lights and sounds and get an experience that you're just not able to get anymore."

"Incredible"

According to Middleton, working on the figure brought him closer to Avicii.

"I didn't realize was how much work he did with charity," he said. "He co-founded House for Hunger. He raised awareness about world hunger and donated lots of money to Feeding America as well. That was one bit I wasn't necessarily aware of as a fan, something that even more so put him on such a pedestal for me."

It's Located in the music room

Located in Madame Tussauds' music room, the figure stands alongside the figures of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran and more. Fans can learn more by visiting Madame Tussauds online.

"Fantastic Job"

In addition to scoring a No. 4 hit on the Billboard 200 in 2013 with "Wake Me Up" and regularly appearing in the Top 5 of Forbes' "Highest-Paid DJs" list, Avicii scored several posthumous awards. During the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, his song with Rita Ora, "Lonely Together," took home the award for best dance.

In June of this year, his album Tim was posthumously released, with proceeds from the album going towards The Tim Bergling Foundation.

"Awesome"

As the one-year anniversary of the late DJ's death approached, his family announced the creation of the Tim Bergling Foundation, named after the "Wake Me Up" DJ's given name. Launched in April of this year, the foundation focuses on supporting suicide prevention as well as those with mental illness. The foundation will later expand to be active in climate change, development assistance, nature consideration and endangered species.

"Tim wanted to make a difference. Starting a foundation in his name is our way to honor his memory and continue to act in his spirit," the family said in a press release at the time.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "home" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.