Major-label A&R execs from across the globe flocked to Hozier's hometown of Dublin to scout his gigs. Within weeks, his Irish label Rubyworks (co-owned by his managers Caroline Downey and Denis Desmond with Niall Muckian) had inked deals with Island/Universal internationally and Sony's Columbia in the United States, where the "Take Me to Church" EP was released in late November. A second EP, "From Eden," followed in March as a streaming exclusive with Spotify before hitting digital retailers in April.
Irish engineer Rob Kirwan (U2, PJ Harvey) is co-producing the album, but much of the rest of his team is a family affair. His mother, Lorraine, did the artwork for both EPs, and is working on the album art and tour merch. Hozier's brother Jon is expected to direct his next video.
*Currently Impacting US Radio Billboard Hot 100: #6 Peak Billboard Digital Songs: #2 Peak Billboard Pop Songs: #23 Peak Billboard Radio Songs: #27 Peak Billboard Streaming Songs: #12 Peak Billboard On - Demand Songs: #1 Peak Billboard Hot Rock Songs: #1 Peak Billboard Alternative Songs: #2 Peak
I'll admit that I haven't listened to anything outside of "Take Me To Church" yet, but my god, that is one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. If ever a song deserved to come out of nowhere and become a big hit, it's that one.
It references the very organized attacks against LGBT youths that are carried out with impunity, without action from law enforcement. There are a lot of far-right guys who film these attacks. Because the song was always about sexuality and about organizations that would undermine humanity at its most natural, we thought that — in Ireland, the church doesn't really have that kind of strength that it did, but there will always be organizations that will, and there will always be organizations that try. Hopefully there won't be one day, but there are, and this is a pure example of that.
It's people carrying out terrible acts through the justification of far-right traditionalism, and also a long campaign to make homosexuality equivalent with things like pedophilia and bestiality, which is absolutely appalling. So that's what we wanted to show. The video wasn't overexaggerating anything. We just wanted to tell it how it is.
This week, not only is "Church" scaling the Hot Rock Songs top 10 (No. 9), Hozier (born Andrew Hozier Byrne) places four other titles on the chart, including "Jackie and Wilson," which becomes his highest debut (No. 18). A nod to soul singer Jackie Wilson ("We'll name our children Jackie and Wilson, raise 'em on rhythm and blues"), the track debuts with all its chart points from digital sales (18,000 first-week U.S. downloads sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan).
US TOUR
