Irish singer Andrew Hozier-Byrnes, more commonly known as Hozier, is performing on Saturday Night Live. He has risen to fame in a short time and he makes his debut on the SNL stage tonight. Read on for all the info on Hozier’s biggest influences, his amazing Take Me To Church video, and the reason he posted his personal cell phone number on Twitter this week …
1. Bill Hader Is Hosting Their Episode of SNL
On tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live, Bill Hader is the host and Hozier is the musical guest. Have a look at one of the promos for the show above. This is Hozier’s first time performing on the SNL stage.
When Hozier was younger, he suffered greatly from stage fright. Fortunately, he has overcome this issue. Hozier opened up about his SNL gig to Rolling Stone, revealing:
There was a moment the other day of watching a promo of Bill Hader go, ‘I’m hosting SNL this week with musical guest Hozier,’ and thinking about how I’d spent years watching that happen to other musicians. I try not to think about until, like, a week later. When I do any sort of TV, I just take a deep breath and breeze through it. But then a week goes by and I go, ‘Jesus fucking Christ, did that happen?!’
Check out Hozier’s performance of “Take Me To Church” from tonight’s SNL below:
https://dailymotion.com/video/x27rkqm
2. Hozier’s Debut Solo Album Dropped This Week
His debut studio album came out earlier this week on October 7, 2014, and the album is reportedly getting a ton of recognition. Rolling Stone writes:
Though he’s experiencing worldwide recognition on the heels of his expansive, folk-tinged self-titled debut, you’d be forgiven for missing the bus: His rise happened so fast, it shocked even him.
When asked about his music, Hozier stated:
I know I’m not the kind of music that’s going to have tons of screaming fans, and I’m not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea. I just want to do as good a job as I can. I’m quite sure I don’t want legions of 15-year-old girls who call themselves, like, Broziers or something. My career isn’t going to be that kind of a thing.
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3. His Music Video Take Me To Church Kicked Off His Success
Rolling Stone reports on how Hozier’s popularity kicked off:
It all started in September of 2013, when he released the video for “Take Me to Church,” a dark, bluesy EP track that would also lead his album. The clip, which debuted during the furor over Russia’s anti-gay legislation last fall, depicts a gay couple who are pursued and eventually brutalized by an angry mob. After getting posted to Reddit, he watched as the video’s view count ticked up.
Have a look at the music video above. When talking about the message behind the video, Hozier told New York Magazine:
Coming from Ireland, obviously, there’s a bit of a cultural hangover from the influence of the church. You’ve got a lot of people walking around with a heavy weight in their hearts and a disappointment, and that shit carries from generation to generation … So the song is just about that — it’s an assertion of self, reclaiming humanity back for something that is the most natural and worthwhile … To me, it’s not even a gay issue or a civil rights issue, it’s a human rights isse, and it should offend us all. It’s just simple. Either somebody has equal rights, or they don’t. And certainly in the Irish constitution, marriage is genderless.
4. Hozier Posted His Cell Phone Number on Twitter
+1-646-812-3313. Give me a bell. http://t.co/qeUqDboRec
To celebrate his album, Hozier surprised fans a few days ago by posting his cell phone number on Twitter and telling them “give me a bell.” Many of them did just that and actually got to talk to the music artist. Hozier told Rolling Stone:
The idea came about because I was going to change my mobile number anyway. So I thought, for the last day before I do that, why don’t I just put my number out online and people can call me and tell me what they thought about the album or just to chat … It was the text messages that killed it. The phone was an old flip phone, and it just started seizing up. I turned it on [a few nights later] at 2 a.m. though, and people were still calling through.
Many fans extended their thanks to Hozier online as he answered their calls or tweets.
Thanks for all the texts, they’re really heart warming but I’m afraid they also melt this poor phone…Won’t get a chance to read them all!
5. The Best Singers Are Females, According to Hozier
Growing up, Hozier was a big fan of Nina Simone, telling The Guardian:
I think it all started with Nina Simone. When I was maybe 7 or 8 I used to listen to one of her albums every night before I went to sleep. For me her voice was everything … The best vocalists I can think of are female. There is no singer I can think of who can touch Ella Fitzgerald. And when Billie Holiday sings she’s merciless about it. Her voice has just this immaculate sadness – even in happy songs there was something that was so broken about it.
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Hozier, ‘Saturday Night Live’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know