Andrew Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990),
known as
Hozier, is an
Irish musician and singer-songwriter from
Bray, County Wicklow.
In 2013, he released his debut EP, featuring the hit single "
Take Me to Church", and his second EP
From Eden in 2014. His debut studio album,
Hozier, was released in Ireland in September 2014 and globally in October 2014.
Beginnings
Hozier was born in
Bray, County Wicklow, the son of a musician. He began a degree in music at
Trinity College, Dublin, but dropped out midway through his first year in order to record demos for
Universal Music.
While at Trinity, he became involved with the Trinity Orchestra. He was a member of
Anúna from 2008 to 2012, and appears as a soloist on their 2012 release
Illumination singing "La Chanson de Mardi Gras".
He toured and sang with the group internationally including performances in Norway and the Netherlands.
2013–14: Take Me to Church and Hozier
In 2013, Hozier released the EP
Take Me to Church (also containing "Like Real People Do", "Angel of Small Death and The Codeine Scene" and a live version of "Cherry Wine"), with the title track becoming his breakthrough single after it went viral on
YouTube.
It reached number one on the Irish iTunes singles chart and number two in the official chart on 25 October 2013. Hozier followed up
Take Me to Church with the new EP
From Eden (also containing "Work Song", "Arsonist's Lullabye" and a live version of "To Be Alone"), and a number of festival tour dates and television appearances in the United States.
Hozier released his self-titled album,
Hozier on 19 September 2014. It had five singles including "
Take Me to Church", "Work Song", and "
From Eden", which were hits on his earlier EPs. On December 5, 2014, it was announced that "Take Me to Church" was nominated at the
57th Annual Grammy Awards for
Song of the Year in 2015.
He performed his hit “Take Me to Church” with
Annie Lennox at the 2015 Grammy Awards.