ILLENIUM Scores Fourth No. 1 on Top Dance Albums Chart With ‘Odyssey’

ILLENIUM’s latest album, Odyssey, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart (dated Feb. 21) with 18,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States Feb. 6-12, according to Luminate. The set marks his fourth career leader, following Illenium (2023), Fallen Embers (2021) and Ascend (2019).

With four No. 1s, ILLENIUM ties FKA Twigs, Marshmello, M.I.A. and Lindsey Stirling for the third-most among solo artists in the chart’s nearly 25-year history, trailing only Lady Gaga (the leader among all acts with eight) and Louie DeVito (seven).

ILLENIUM also lands three songs from Odyssey on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart: “Don’t Want Your Love,” with Ellie Goulding, debuts at No. 9; “Slave to the Rhythm,” with Bring Me the Horizon, bows at No. 18; and “In My Arms,” with HAYLA, reenters at No. 25 (after reaching No. 12 last May). The two debuts up his career total to 69 entries, the sixth-most in the chart’s history, after David Guetta (96), Marshmello (76), Skrillex (71), the Chainsmokers and Kygo (70 each).

The chart accomplishments arrive ahead of ILLENIUM’s nine-date residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, which begins March 6. The run will make him just the second electronic artist to headline the venue, following Anyma.

In a recent interview with Billboard, ILLENIUM revealed that the Sphere residency is what sparked Odyssey. After developing a storyboard and building out a cinematic world for his show, he realized he needed an entirely new album to match its scope. “We wanted to make a movie,” he said, adding that the album and show were created in tandem, with songs written for specific scenes and characters.

“The canvas you get there is just so different creatively,” he said. “You get so many more possibilities and so much more immersion — the haptic seats, the spatial audio, which a lot of artists haven’t fully used to its full potential. We’re going frickin’ HAM on all that.”