Overview
Four time DJ of year Martin Garrix has amassed a huge following ever since his debut in electronic music in 2012, and has had a huge influence on the dance music scene ever since. He is a powerhouse of a producer and an incredibly humble individual who shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Illenium, known to his fans as Nicholas Miller is an American musician, producer, and DJ who has been in the game since 2013. He is based in Dever, Colorado and has put out 5 full length albums in 7 years.
discography/genres
Since his first track in 2012, Martin Garrix has mainly produced different types of house music. Some subgenres in his discology include Bass House, Electro House, Progressive House, Big Room House, and many more. He has dabbled in the future bass world before with tracks like In The Name Of Love with Bebe Rexha, Scared To Be Lonely with Dua Lipa, and most recently from 2022, Hero with JVKE. Even though In The Name Of Love and Scared To Be Lonely were international anthems, he predominately focuses in the house scene and landed on most people's radar with his track Animals in 2013 which quickly became one of the most iconic EDM songs of all time. Throughout the years he has mostly released singles but has released several EPs along with his full length debut album Sentio, in 2022.
Illenium has had a very different journey than Martin Garrix. For one reason, he makes completely different music. He has mainly produced Future Bass, Melodic Dubstep, Electronic Rock, and Pop Punk. This is why a lot of times people refer to his music as extremely emotional or heartfelt because these styles usually emulate that feeling. Illenium found his signature sound early with songs like Afterlife with Echoes and Crawl Outta Love with Annika Wells but he also makes very aggressive tracks like Gorgeous with Blanke and Bipolar Sunshine, and Shivering with Spiritbox. While Martin Garrix usually releases singles, Illenium has played the album game since the beginning of his career making 5 studio albums within 7 years, not to mention many full length remix albums and a few edit and remix EPs.
music Awards/Fame
Martin Garrix has won a plethora of awards and recognition. To name a few, He won the DJ mag DJ of the year three consecutive years in a row from 2016 to 2018 and most recently in 2022. He also made the official anthem for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. 2016 entitled Oops. Garrix also won Best Electronic Act and Best World Stage Performance awards at the MTV European Music Awards in 2016. He became one of the first DJs to model and was the official face of Armani Exchange in their Fall/Winter 2017/2018 campaign. He was also listed in Forbes 2017 World's Highest Paid DJ's earning about $19.5 million. Garrix was also an ambassador for AXE Body Spray in 2018 and 2019 and featured a limited edition Martin Garrix body spray in two music videos. In 2021, Garrix released "We Are The People featuring Bono & the Edge" which was the UEFA official song of 2020.
Like Garrix, Illenium has also won awards and acquired fame although not quite as much since he isn't as main stream. But, he received a Grammy Nomination for his album Fallen Embers that he released in 2021. He has had many songs reach into the billboard charts, and won Remix of the Year at the Electronic Music Awards in 2017 with his remix of Say It, originally by Flume. Also in 2018, he won the International Songwriting Competition with his song Crawl Outta Love featuring Annika Wells and Fractures with Nevve. He won in another remix contest in 2019 as well: Best Remix at the International Dance Music Awards with his remix of Without Me by Halsey. He was also selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 music list in 2020.
social impact and significance
Martin Garrix has changed EDM forever. So many tracks and producers have voiced being inspired by Martin Garrix, and especially tracks like Animals. But Garrix hasn't only impacted EDM. In 2016, Garrix played a show in LA with all proceeds going to the non-profit organization called "Fuck Cancer" which helps in preventing cancer and supporting those who have it. He also did a charity show in Mumbai in the same year which helped support the education of Indian children. He has also donated huge sums of money to organizations such as the SOS Children's Village in South Africa, and the War Child Holland Charity that supports vulnerable communities with children in poverty.
Illenium hasn't done quite as much for the community, but what he has done has been very impactful to the people it affects. Illenium suffered from a self-inflicted heroin overdose in 2012 and since then, has quit drugs, and been a huge advocate for helping people out of their addiction. He officially partnered with End Overdose in April 2023 which is a non-prophet organization that helps drug addicts and helps educates them on how to get out of their situation. He enabled volunteers from the organization to offer live training sessions on certain stops on his latest tour. Another important landmark in Illenium's career also happened this year. On June 17th, he played his show Trilogy: Colorado at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High stadium. With over 50,000 concert goers, it was Illenium's biggest show to date, and it also broke the record for the largest EDM headliner event in US history.
Conclusion
Martin Garrix and Illenium are both incredible artists with different styles, different rises to fame, and different careers and passions. This article was not meant to promote one artist above the other, but to highlight both artists in their respective places. Hopefully, the viewer comes away from this page, more knowledgeable then when they found it, and has hopefully found new music to explore.