Illinois (Sufjan Stevens album)
Illinois (styled Sufjan Stevens Invites You to: Come on Feel the Illinoise on the cover; sometimes spelled as Illinoise) is a 2005 concept album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, it features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke. It was adapted into a musical, Illinoise, in 2023 and, after playing smaller venues, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in April 2024.
Illinois
July 4, 2005
Late 2004 – January 2005
The Buddy Project, Astoria, Queens, New York City, United States as well as various locations in and around New York City
73:59
Sufjan Stevens
Stevens recorded and produced the album at multiple venues in New York City using low-fidelity studio equipment and a variety of instruments between late 2004 and early 2005. The artwork and lyrics explore the history, culture, art, and geography of the state—Stevens developed them after analyzing criminal, literary, and historical documents. Following its release, Stevens promoted Illinois with a world tour.
Critics praised the album for its well-written lyrics and complex orchestrations. In particular, reviewers noted Stevens' progress as a songwriter since the release of Michigan. Illinois was named the best-reviewed album of 2005 by review aggregator Metacritic, and was included on several reviewers' "best of the decade" lists—including those of Paste, NPR, and Rolling Stone. The album amounted to Stevens' greatest public success to date; it was his first to place on the Billboard 200, and it topped the Billboard list of "Heatseekers Albums". The varied instrumentation and experimental songwriting on the album invoked comparisons to work by Steve Reich, Neil Young, and the Cure. Besides numerous references to Illinois, Stevens continued a theme of his songwriting career by including multiple references to his Christian faith.
Commercial performance[edit]
In its first week of sales, Illinois sold 9,000 copies, 20% coming from online sales.[83] Overall, the album sold more than 100,000 copies by November 2005[5] and over 300,000 by the end of 2009.[7] It was Stevens' first release to place on the Billboard 200, reaching number 121 within eight weeks on the chart.[84] It also reached number one on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and number four on the Independent Albums chart, remaining on them for 32 and 39 weeks, respectively.[85][86] In August 2017, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States.[87][88]
In July 2013, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for 60,000 sold units in the United Kingdom and in April 2023, it was certified gold for 100,000 sold units.[89]
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