Take Me to Church

It doesn’t happen very often, but Co. Wicklow singer-songwriter Hozier (Andrew John Hozier-Byrne) established himself as a major force in international music with the release of his debut single, ‘Take Me To Church’, in 2013. Produced by Rob Kirwan, the track initially appeared on Hozier's EP of the same name, and went on to feature as the opening track on his self-titled debut LP in 2014 – which reached No.2 on the Billboard 200 in the US, as well as No.1 in Ireland. The popularity of ‘Take Me To Church’ was boosted by the accompanying music video, directed by Brendan Canty and Conal Thomson, which has since clocked up over 544 million views on YouTube. In addition to being Spotify’s most-streamed song of 2014, in June 2021, ‘Take Me To Church’ became the first Irish song to hit one billion streams on Spotify. It is, by any standards, a modern classic.

The Story Behind The Song

In 2013, Hozier was cutting his teeth as a singer-songwriter at open mic nights around the Dublin area – having been involved with the Trinity Orchestra during his studies at Trinity College Dublin, as well as the choral ensemble Anúna. ‘Take Me To Church’ was originally recorded as a rough demo in his parent’s home in Co. Wicklow.

“I used to carry around this little notebook with me everywhere,” Hozier told Hot Press in 2020. “That’s how it started. I’d jot down these lyrical ideas that were kind of disembodied, but I had nowhere to put them. So, they rattled around in my pocket for ages – nearly a solid year or so, until I found a home to put them into.

“I was sitting at the piano one day, and things just fell into place quite quickly around it,” he continued. “I loved the song, and I was proud of it – but I thought only a very small audience might hear it. I was doing the odd open mic night, but I hadn’t released anything at that point.”

The demo caught the attention of Dublin-based independent record label Rubyworks, who paired Hozier with producer Rob Kirwan, to record the single for his debut EP.

Later, Brendan Canty and Conal Thomson created a music video for ‘Take Me To Church’, which explored themes of homophobia and hate-based violence – expanding on the song’s inherent celebration of sexuality and on its powerful condemnation of religious hypocrisy.

“It’s there in the ‘born sick’ lyric – and reflecting on the Church’s habits of pontificating over who, and how, we should love,” Hozier told Hot Press.

Portrait of the Artist: Hozier, shot by Barry McCall

The viral music video, as well as online music platforms, helped to make ‘Take Me To Church’ a major international hit. It was one of those remarkable moments that had experienced music biz professionals scratching their heads, sending texts and making calls: “Have you heard it? There’s something happening. It could be mega.” And so it turned out. ‘Take Me To Church’ became Spotify’s most-streamed song of 2014. It spent 23 consecutive weeks at No.1 on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart, and climbed as high as No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Taylor Swift’s ‘Black Space’. It has since been certified multi-platinum in the US, along with several other countries. In Ireland, the track reached No.2 on the Singles Chart.

‘Take Me To Church’ was nominated for Song of the Year at 57th Annual Grammy Awards – at which Hozier performed a duet version with Annie Lennox.

Following the popularity of the single, Hozier’s self-titled debut LP – on which ‘Take Me To Church’ features as the opening track – was one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2014. In addition to positive reviews across the full range of international media, the album reached No.2 on the Billboard 200, and No.3 on the UK Albums Chart. In Ireland, Hozier disrupted U2’s 27-year run of debuting at No.1 on the Irish Albums Chart, following the release of their 13th studio album, Songs Of Innocence.

The successes continued to flow. In 2020, ‘Take Me To Church’ was voted Track Of The Decade in the Hot Press Readers’ Poll, while Hozier was named Artist Of The Decade. The following year, the Co. Wicklow singer-songwriter became the first ever Irish artist to achieve one billion streams on Spotify. Already the song has been covered over 50 times, with The Cast of Glee and Ed Sheeran among those who have hazarded it. But the original surely remains the best.

Despite the phenomenal commercial performance of ‘Take Me To Church’, Hozier told Rolling Stone in 2015 that he “never wrote music for the mainstream.” As an artist, he has continued to explore themes of protest and empowerment in his music, while also enjoying substantial global success – debuting at the top of the US Billboard 200 in 2019 with his second studio album, Wasteland, Baby!

In addition to his music, Hozier has been internationally recognised for his trailblazing activism – as he continues to embody the fiery spirit originally minted in his breakthrough single, ‘Take Me To Church’.

Hozier live at Electric Picnic, shot for Hot Press by Andre Aravena