Artist of the Week
Hozier

Week 12 of 2019




Hozier

Hozier's passion for music has sparked since he was still a teenager, and continues to grow until now. It is also because of his love for music that he is able to be known by many people around the world. From his breakout single "Take Me to Church" to his latest album "Wasteland, Baby!", his work has always been something that people and critics love.

Spending around 18 months to work on the album, Hozier released the sophomore effort on March 1 to generally positive reviews. For instance, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave the album a perfect score, stating that the Ireland singer would be "a talent to rival Jeff Buckley." Meanwhile, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic dubbed the album "a subtle but notable shift that lends emotional gravity to a singer/songwriter who already favored weighty topics."

"Wasteland, Baby!" also performed well on music charts. It debuted at No. 1 both on the Billboard 200 chart and the Irish Albums chart. Racking up 89,000 units in the U.S., his album marked the largest sales for any rock album since Mumford & Sons' "Delta" sold 230,000 units in late last year. Meanwhile, its radio single "Movement" peaked at No. 3 on Adult Alternative Songs chart.

Learning news of him earning his first No. 1 album in the U.S., Hozier couldn't help but be excited over it. "It feels good, I don't know how to sum it up. It just feels really good," he said. "I was proud of the [new] album. I was thrilled to get it out here. I was glad that people saw where it was coming from and are enjoying this. For me it's really encouraging and really exciting. I've got loads of people to thank, but I'm thrilled."

Hozier is currently hitting the road in support of the album. The tour kicked off on March 10 in Buffalo and is expected to conclude on November 26 in Manhattan, New York City.

© AceShowbiz.com

As It Was (Other Voices Series 19)


Browse All Video

HOZIER BIO

Hozier was born Andrew Hozier-Byrne on 17 March 1990, which happened to be St. Patrick's day, in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. The son of a local blues musician, he grew up with the blues being played all around him. He joined his first band when he was 15. He played R&B, soul, gospel and of course, blues. He started a degree in music at Trinity College Dublin, where he was involved with the Trinity Orchestra. However, he dropped out in his first year to record demos for Universal Music. From 2009 to 2012, he sang with Anuna, an Irish choral group, and toured internationally. » more