42 Facts About Hozier

Hozier was born near Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland on 17 March 1990, the son of Raine Hozier-Byrne and John Byrne.

When Hozier was six years old, his father underwent spinal surgery, and although he survived despite numerous complications, he needed a wheelchair from then on.

Hozier's father was unemployed for a couple of years, which put a severe financial strain on the family.

Hozier began writing songs at the age of 15, taught himself guitar and sang in his school choir.

Hozier later attended St Gerard's School before studying music education at Trinity College Dublin.

Hozier missed exams to record demos for a music label and was refused a year's deferral by the college.

Hozier was a member of and toured with the choral ensemble Anuna from 2009 to 2012 and appeared as a soloist on their 2014 release Illuminations singing "La Chanson de Mardi Gras".

Hozier played at the Oxegen 2009 and Oxegen 2010 festivals.

Hozier wrote the song "Take Me to Church" in 2013 in between playing open mic nights in Dublin; the rough demo resulted in him signing with indie label Rubyworks Records.

Hozier released his debut extended play, called Take Me to Church, on 3 July 2013.

Hozier initially recorded track demos in his attic studio before working on the record with producer Rob Kirwan.

In March 2014, Hozier released his second EP, From Eden.

Hozier released his eponymous album, Hozier, on 19 September 2014, including tracks from his first two extended-play albums.

Hozier met critical success; Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph noted that it was "an intense, youthful lyrical tangling of religion and romantic obsession that regularly finds him poised 'between love and abuse'".

Hozier peaked at number one in Ireland and finished second on the US Billboard 200.

Hozier performed it at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards in May 2015.

In June 2016, Hozier released the song "Better Love" as part of the Legend of Tarzan soundtrack.

Hozier subsequently took a one-year hiatus from his work, moving back to Ireland to "reconnect" after touring his debut album.

In September 2018, Hozier returned with the release of the EP Nina Cried Power.

Hozier released his second studio album's lead single, "Movement", on 14 November 2018, alongside a music video.

Hozier was the closing headliner of the inaugural Railbird Festival held on the grounds of the Keeneland horse track in Lexington, Kentucky.

Hozier was one of the headliners for the Electric Picnic 2019, a three-day festival held in Ireland on 30 August to 1 September.

Hozier performed at the Lollapalooza 2019, a four-day music festival held in Chicago in August.

In March and April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hozier performed via social media to raise money and awareness for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Hozier performed a cover version of "The Parting Glass" on The Late Late Show and released the song as a charity single on streaming media, with proceeds going to the ISPCC.

On 29 October 2021, Hozier released the single "Tell It to My Heart" in collaboration with Meduza, which debuted at number 13 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Hozier released the extended play Eat Your Young on 17 March 2023.

Hozier said that "these are songs that might have made it to the circles of gluttony, limbo, violence, and the outward 'ascent' respectively".

Hozier has stated that his musical education was "grounded" in Chicago blues artists such as John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding and Nina Simone, to whom he pays tribute in the track "Nina Cried Power".

Hozier has stated that "the best vocalists I can think of are female".

Musically, Hozier has listed Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, Woody Guthrie, Van Morrison, Ella Fitzgerald, St Vincent, Feist, Little Green Cars, Paul Simon, Willie Dixon and Lisa Hannigan as musical and vocal influences.

Hozier has dismissed comparisons of his work to poetry, stating that to consider it such "would be a disservice to poetry itself".

Hozier has said that his first record contained a "fairytale aspect" influenced by Oscar Wilde.

Hozier has stated that he believes "the personal is the political"; much of his work holds direct references to topical events.

In November 2019, Hozier released a song titled "Jackboot Jump", following live performances of it on tour.

In 2019, Hozier performed an unreleased song, "But the Wages", that refers to temperatures rising as well as riots all around the world, while wages remain the same.

Hozier was raised a Quaker and now identifies as agnostic.

In 2016, Hozier participated in the "Home Sweet Home" movement with the goal of getting the Irish government to act to end homelessness.

Hozier showed support for abortion in the Republic of Ireland in the 2018 referendum and stated he felt "pride" in his generation and the democratic process following the vote.

In 2020, Hozier donated all the royalties from his 2019 protest song "Jackboot Jump" to the NAACP and Black Lives Matter movement following the George Floyd protests.

In March 2023, Hozier performed at the Love Rising benefit concert in Nashville in support of the LGBTQ community.

Hozier has expressed solidarity with Palestine by calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during his Unreal Unearth shows.