Today's birthday, March 17
songwriter Hozier (1990-)
Andrew Hozier-Byrne, known by his stage name Hozier, is a rising international music star with a distinct voice that fuses blues, soul and indie rock.
Andrew Hozier-Byrne was born on March 17, 1990 in Bray in north County Wicklow, Ireland.
His father was a blues musician and he began studying music composition at Trinity College in Dublin.
He was a lead vocalist with the Trinity Orchestra, but dropped out in his first year of study to record demo tracks for Universal Music.
From 2008 to 2012, he sang with Irish choral group Anuna and appeared as a soloist on their 2012 album Illumination.
In 2013, Rubyworks Records facilitated the release of his first EP Take Me To Church, which launched him into the eyes and ears of international audiences.
The music video for Take Me To Church directly addresses gay discrimination in Russia and went viral on YouTube and Reddit within days of its release.
The song reached number one in twelve countries and has since been widely used in television commercials, including those for Air Berlin and Beats by Dre.
In 2014, Hozier released his second EP From Eden and performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show alongside singing heavyweights Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.
In October of that year, he also released his debut self-titled studio album, for which he won Album Of The Year at the 2015 European Border Breakers Awards.
Hozier performed Take Me To Church with Scottish singer Annie Lennox at the 2015 Grammy Awards, where it was nominated for Song Of The Year.
The Irish singing sensation is currently touring North America, but will perform in Melbourne and Sydney in late March.
He is also headlining the Byron Bay Bluesfest during the Easter weekend in early April.
