Before he found pop glory with “Take Me to Church” — released 10 years ago on Sept. 13, 2013 — it was more like “Take Me to College” for Hozier.
“After I began working on the lyrics for lots of that song, I used to be in college,” the suburban Dublin native — who was born Andrew John Hozier-Byrne — told The Post.
“The label was offering to pay for studio time, but that studio time conflicted with an exam timetable in the university, and I selected the studio time. I used to be kind of forced to make a choice to either stay or leave my coursework in university, so I left college and was specializing in music full time.”
But leaving Trinity College Dublin helped Hozier, 33, graduate from playing local open mic nights to becoming a world sensation along with his hit debut single, “Take Me to Church,” which was nominated for Song of the 12 months at the 2015 Grammys and kickstarted a profession that continues to reach latest heights a decade later. In truth, the Irish singer-songwriter will headline a sold-out Madison Square Garden in Recent York on Saturday — one month after releasing his excellent third studio album, “Unreal Unearth.”
Strangely, though, he’s never even set foot inside the iconic venue that has hosted lots of the best musicians of all time.
“It’s a giant landmark for me,” said Hozier. “And I feel super fortunate that I even have the support, that audiences are sort of growing, and persons are still coming to the music 10 years on. That’s something I’m delighted about.
“Recent York has all the time been so good to me,” he added. “It was the first city I played once I got here to the States — and the first time I ever played to an audience that removed from home … It felt like I had a future in playing music around the world. That was a sense I got for the first time in Recent York.”
Indeed, in the last decade, Hozier has continued to fulfill the “mission statement” that he made with “Take Me to Church.”
“I figured that if I used to be as honest in the work as best I may very well be, people would resonate with it,” he said. “You realize, that’s all I attempted to do with that song — and still try to do in the work now.”
Still, he’s surprised that “Take Me to Church” managed to go all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while spend 23 consecutive weeks atop the Hot Rock Songs chart.
“The way in which that the song crossed over right into a pop hit was amazing,” he said. “And I used to be so proud that that the song could do this.”
Although Hozier grew up Catholic, he now identifies as agnostic, and the lyrics of his signature song are critical of the Catholic church.
“I assume a part of me wanted to address, as an Irishman, the particular legacy of the institutionalized Roman Catholic Church in Ireland,” he said. “And in addition to take a take a look at and kind of comment on the idea of original sin — so, before we even get into sexual orientation, that fundamentally all human beings are born as something that carries sin. So I just wanted to query that and kind of turn that concept on its head slightly bit.”
The gospel-charged “Take Me to Church” made much more of an announcement with its video, which depicted a gay male couple — one among whom comes under homophobic attack.
“It was around the time the Olympics were about to be held in Russia, and at the time the Russian state had engaged on this kind of misinformation campaign where they were targeting the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “They were putting them into the same bracket of laws as beastiality. And there was this massive uptick of attacks against gay people in Russia. And we decided to kind of draw some awareness towards what what was happening in Russia at the time.”
Nevertheless, some proceed to misinterpret the lyrics to “Take Me to Church” as more pro-religion than they really are.
“There’s definitely some individuals who didn’t understand the message,” said Hozier. “And I feel I’m at peace with that … It’s a risk that you simply take once you release something, it’d get misunderstood.”
Nevertheless, the song took Hozier all the way to the Grammy stage, where he sang it with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Annie Lennox in 2015.
“It was an exquisite experience getting to perform with Annie Lennox, who’s just a complete legend and was an exquisite supportive energy as well around me,” he said. “Just getting to know her, getting to talk to her and getting to sing along with her — it was great for therefore many reasons.”
There are more gospel vibes on “Unreal Unearth” tracks corresponding to “All Things End,” “Butchered Tongue” and “Damage Gets Done,” featuring Brandi Carlile. And Hozier gets all that soul from his papa.
“My dad was a drummer, and all of the music that he listened to, all the music that he played, was from the blues tradition and soul tradition,” he said.
While “Unreal Unearth” is one among the best LPs of 2023 — a real album that is supposed to be listened to from start to finish — even Hozier doesn’t expect everyone to devour it that way today.
“I don’t frustrate myself by trying to swim against that tide,” he said. “For many who could have time to sit down and listen to an album, it’s great that you could do this. But I recognize that’s not all the time easy … So I’m at peace with the way that folks come to the music nonetheless they arrive to it.”