1990–present
Latest News: Hozier Begins 2025 Unreal Unearth Tour
Hozier has never played a full U.S. arena tour, but that’s now changing. The “Too Sweet” singer will play more than 40 North American shows by mid-October during a 2025 extension of his Unreal Unearth tour. Having kicked off May 21 with five dates in South America, the tour includes a mix of arenas and stadiums, such as Boston’s Fenway Park.
The first U.S. date is a big one: the Governors Ball Music Festival on June 8 in New York City, where the 35-year-old will join Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Benson Boone, Feid, and Glass Animals as a headliner.
Even with his busy touring schedule, Hozier isn’t ruling out the possibility of a new project this year. “I’m working on music all the time, and if I can get a song out I would love to,” he told a USA Today reporter on TikTok in March.
Who Is Hozier?
Irish musician Hozier is known for the hit songs “Take Me to Church” and “Too Sweet.” The latter became the singer’s first No. 1 track in 2024. Hozier, whose real name is Andrew Hozier-Byrne, was writing his own songs by age 15 and taught himself to play guitar. After dropping out of college to pursue his career, he rose to fame with his eponymous 2014 debut album. The multiplatinum record’s lead track, “Take Me to Church,” received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. The musician has released two subsequent albums, most recently 2023’s Unreal Unearth. Known for including religious and political themes in his music, Time named him to its 2025 list of the world’s most influential people.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Andrew John Hozier-Byrne
BORN: March 17, 1990
BIRTHPLACE: Bray, Ireland
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
HEIGHT: 6 ft. 6 in.
Where Is Hozier From?
Hozier is the stage name of Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, who was born on March 17, 1990, in Bray, Ireland. His mother, Raine Hozier-Byrne, is an artist, and his father, John Byrne, is a former musician and bank worker. Andrew also has an older brother, Jon Hozier-Byrne.
While his paternal surname is Irish, the singer takes his one-word stage name—pronounced “Hoze-ier”—from his maternal grandmother’s side. He believes the name to be of French descent, possibly stemming from the Huguenot religious group.
Andrew’s childhood took an abrupt turn around age 6 or 7, when his father experienced complications from a failed spinal surgery. The procedure caused irreparable nerve damage and left John immobile. “It changed all of our lives. It changed his life, it kind of ruined his life in a big way,” Andrew told RTE. “I don’t know how my mum did it. When you’re on morphine the whole time… you’re watching someone you love kind of fade away in many ways.” John’s condition has since improved thanks to a new treatment drug.
Living in the Irish countryside with little internet connection, Andrew’s main source of music was John, who played drums in blues-rock bands and had an extensive vinyl and cassette collection. Andrew taught himself to play guitar and also sang in the school choir. The teen started writing his own songs by age 15 and joined a blues cover band. He has cited folk, blues, soul, and gospel among his primary influences and David Bowie as a dream musical mentor.
While the family struggled financially, Raine and John invested heavily in their sons’ education. Andrew attended the St. Gerard’s School in Bray and was accepted to the music program at Trinity College in Dublin. However, he dropped out during his first year to focus on writing songs after signing a development deal with the Universal Ireland label.
Music Career
Before catching his big break as a solo artist, Hozier joined the Irish choral ensemble Anúna from 2007 through 2012. He performed with the group live and recorded a solo for its 2012 album Illumination.
Even after withdrawing from university, he participated in the school-affiliated Trinity Orchestra. And, he appeared at local festivals, covering songs of legendary artists such as Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson.
Soon, his decision to focus on his own music would pay off in a big way.
Grammy Nomination for “Take Me to Church”
Hozier began recording crude music demos in his attic, including one for a new single called “Take Me to Church.” His vocal prowess caught the attention of indie label Rubyworks and producer Rob Kirwan, who replaced the programmed music with live instruments. Hozier released the song as part of his debut EP of the same name in 2013.
“Take Me to Church” introduced a hallmark of Hozier’s music in its pointed social and political commentary. As he has explained, the song is about how “powerful organizations use people’s sexuality in order to mobilize people against women, against gay people,” often through religious justification. Its accompanying music video, released in September 2013, went viral, racking up millions of views.
Anchored by the song’s inclusion, Hozier’s self-titled debut album from September 2014 became a global hit, rising all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200. Later that year, the 24-year-old performed “Take Me to Church” for large U.S. audiences on Saturday Night Live and during the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The track went on to earn a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
However, Hozier’s meteoric rise quickly cooled. In 2016, he contributed the song “Better Love” to the soundtrack for The Legend of Tarzan movie. But by the end of the year, he began experiencing exhaustion from touring and returned home for an extended break from the stage.
First No. 1 Hit with “Too Sweet”
Rejuvenated and armed with new music, Hozier released the 2018 EP Nina Cried Power and the full-length 2019 album Wasteland, Baby! While not as successful in sales compared to his debut project, the latter gave the singer his first No. 1 album in the United States
Hozier didn’t release any additional large-scale projects until 2023, when he offered both an EP titled Eat Your Young and the album Unreal Unearth. Keeping up the creative momentum, he released another EP in 2024, Unheard, which contained hit single “Too Sweet.” The project became Hozier’s fourth collection to peak inside the top 10 on the Hot 200.
A more lighthearted departure from some of his other songs, “Too Sweet” about a lover contemplating his partner’s restrained lifestyle quickly found fans. In April 2024, it became the singer’s first chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Official Singles Chart. Hozier became one of only four Irish artists to lead the Billboard chart along with Sinead O’Connor, U2, and Gilbert O’Sullivan.
“I’ve written songs that definitely deal with more complicated, more difficult themes, for sure. But I guess it’s something that’s fun and immediate and doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s part of its appeal,” Hozier told Variety.
Amid the song’s success, Hozier headlined the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago in summer 2024. The singer also hit the road for more than 80 performances on his Unreal Unearth tour, which was extended into 2025. The North American leg began in May, with the first U.S. date on June 8 at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City.
In April 2025, Time included Hozier on the Time100, its annual list of the world’s most influential people. Fellow singer Noah Kahan, who collaborated with Hozier for a remix of Kahan’s song “Northern Attitude,” wrote a short essay for the feature in which he called performing with the Irish musician “one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Top Songs
As of May 2025, Hozier has had six songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100. They include:
- “Too Sweet” (his only No. 1)
- “Take Me to Church” (No. 2)
- “Northern Attitude,” a collaboration with Noah Kahan (No. 37)
- “Eat Your Young” (No. 67)
- “Wildflower and Barley” with Allison Russell (No. 88)
- “Empire Now” (No. 98)
Hozier’s only Grammy nomination to date was for the 2015 ceremony when “Take Me to Church” competed for Song of the Year. Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” ultimately won the trophy.
Girlfriend and Personal Life
While Hozier primarily keeps details of his dating life private, he’s believed to be in a relationship with model Hana Mayeda. The singer referred to Mayeda as his girlfriend in a now-deleted Instagram comment posted in 2024.
Mayeda is represented by Ford Models and previously trained in classical ballet for 13 years. The couple attended the Time100 Gala together in April 2025, marking a rare public appearance.
Hozier previously described dating as “a challenge” amid his busy touring schedule. “I have huge admiration for artists who have families. It’s hard managing your time and having the energy to put into relationships when the energy you’re expending through the course of the day is intense,” he said. “It’s just a very demanding job.”
The singer has lent vocal and financial support for social causes including racial equality and LGBTQ+ rights. In June 2020, Hozier announced he would donate all royalties from his song “Jackboot Jump” to the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP following widespread protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of white police officers in Minneapolis. Hozier has also criticized governments enacting homophobic laws. “To me, it’s not even a gay issue or a civil rights issue, it’s a human rights issue, and it should offend us all,” he explained to The Cut in 2014. “It’s just simple. Either somebody has equal rights, or they don’t.”
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Hozier’s total fortune at around $6 million as of May 2025.
Quotes
- I think love comes hand in hand with grief and pain. To be open to love, to embrace it, you are also fully open to a great deal of grief and also other part of yourself that can be deeply vulnerable.
- Everyone’s values come through in their music. So mine do too, I suppose. If I feel strongly enough about something or some issue, I wouldn’t ever shy away from putting that to music. That’s just me being honest.
- I keep my head down. I think fame is quite an unnatural state. It must be a tricky thing if you get your sense of validation through other people’s adulation.
- To be honest, the biggest reason I write music and became a musician was to create the amount of joy that I felt about music to anyone else. To me, that’s a job well done.
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Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
