Irish singer-songwriter Hozier has made history by becoming the first Irish artist to top the US Billboard Singles chart since Sinéad O’Connor with his song ‘Too Sweet’. This achievement is especially significant as the song reached the number one spot, making him only the fourth Irish artist ever to reach the summit of the chart; the others being U2, with ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘With Or Without You’, and Gilbert O’Sullivan with ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’.
In a video posted on his social media account, Hozier expressed his gratitude to his fans for their support: “I’ve been both thrilled and taken massively by surprise by such a staggering reaction. It means the world that you’re enjoying this song so much. Thank you all so much.” The song is taken from his EP ‘Unheard’, which was a surprise release in March and comprised of four previously unreleased songs, all recorded during the sessions for his latest album ‘Unreal Unearth’.
Hozier, whose successful single ‘Take Me To Church’ has received over 2 billion Spotify streams, spoke previously to NME about his success: “I think you just check out of [looking at] the numbers. I try not to quantify to myself what a song has done based on its numbers. For me, when I wrote it, I was super-proud of it. And I’ve been incredibly proud that this song – of everything I’ve written – was the one that was a crossover hit…It was an unusual pop hit at the time and an unusual sort of radio success. It’s been a gift for me. But I think some internal janitorial work [is necessary] – like, stepping away from cluttering your head with ‘OK, what number is it on now?’ I’m just so grateful that it’s connected in the way that it has.”
More recently, Hozier responded to a Homer Simpson ‘cover’ of the song, which he described as “fun”, despite warning of the “more complex” questions that AI poses to the future of music. Overall, the Irish singer-songwriter remains grateful for the overwhelming support he has received from his fans globally
Read the full article on NME here: Read More