Hozier Irish Singer With 4.6M YouTube Subscribers

Early life

Hozier, whose full name is Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, was born on 17 March 1990 in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. He grew up in a household where music was part of daily life: his father played drums in jazz and blues settings, and the family's record collection introduced him to blues, jazz and soul artists such as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Nina Simone. He began writing songs in his mid-teens, taught himself guitar and sang in his school choir.

He attended St Gerard's School and later studied music at Trinity College, Dublin. While there he became involved with the Trinity Orchestra, and from 2009 to 2012 he toured with the choral ensemble Anuna. He left the course early after missing exams to record demonstration tracks for a record label, and the college would not grant him a year's deferral.

Career

In 2013 Hozier wrote "Take Me to Church" while playing open-microphone nights in Dublin. The rough demo led to a contract with the independent label Rubyworks Records, and a debut EP of the same name appeared on 3 July 2013. The single followed in September, together with a black-and-white music video that dealt with homophobia and was made on a small budget. After the video was shared widely online, the song climbed charts internationally and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

His self-titled debut album came out on 19 September 2014 and reached number one in Ireland and number two on the US Billboard 200. Singles from the period included "From Eden", "Someone New", "Jackie and Wilson" and "Cherry Wine". In October 2014 he made his American television debut on Saturday Night Live. He then took about a year away from his usual schedule and returned to Ireland after touring the album.

In September 2018 he released the EP "Nina Cried Power", with a title track recorded alongside Mavis Staples, which reached number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart. His second album, "Wasteland, Baby!", appeared on 1 March 2019 and entered at number one in Ireland and on the Billboard 200, his first chart-topping release in the United States. He played the Glastonbury and Lollapalooza festivals and headlined Electric Picnic in 2019. In October 2021 he released "Tell It to My Heart", a collaboration with the duo Meduza.

In November 2022 he worked with the composer Bear McCreary on "Blood Upon the Snow" for the video game God of War Ragnarok. A third studio album, "Unreal Unearth", followed on 18 August 2023 through Rubyworks Records and entered at number one in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It includes lyrics in the Irish language. A set of songs originally intended for that record was issued as the EP "Unheard" on 22 March 2024. Its lead track, "Too Sweet", debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose to number one three weeks later, making him the fourth Irish artist to top that chart and giving him his first number-one single in Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom. In August 2024 he released a further EP, "Unaired". He appeared on Saturday Night Live again in February 2026, performing with Mumford and Sons.

Recognition

"Take Me to Church" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards in February 2015, and Hozier performed it at the ceremony with Annie Lennox. In November 2015 he won the fan-voted VH1 Artist of the Year award. Time magazine included him in its Time 100 list in 2025. In July 2021 the Irish postal service, An Post, issued a stamp in his honour.

Public roles

Hozier has taken part in a number of charitable and political causes. In 2016 he joined the Home Sweet Home campaign, which pressed the Irish government to act on homelessness. In spring 2020 he performed online to raise money for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and released a cover of "The Parting Glass" as a charity single. The same year he donated the royalties from his song "Jackboot Jump" to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter movement. In March 2023 he played a benefit concert in Nashville supporting the LGBTQ community.