Holy hit: How ‘Take Me to Church’ christened Hozier as a star 10 years ago

nypost.com:

“Take Me to Church” — released 10 years ago on Sept. 13, 2013 — it was more like “Take Me to College” for Hozier.“When I started working on the lyrics for a lot of that song, I was 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 chose the studio time.

I was sort of forced to make a decision to either stay or leave my coursework in university, so I left college and was focusing on music full time.”But leaving Trinity College Dublin helped Hozier, 33, graduate from playing local open mic nights to becoming an international sensation with his hit debut single, “Take Me to Church,” which was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2015 Grammys and kickstarted a career that continues to reach new heights a decade later.

In fact, the Irish singer-songwriter will headline a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New 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 many of the greatest musicians of all time.“It’s a big landmark for me,” said Hozier. “And I feel super fortunate that I have the support, that audiences are kind of growing, and people are still coming to the music 10 years on.

That is something I’m delighted about.“New York has always been so good to me,” he added. “It was the first city I played when I came to the States — and the first time I ever played to an audience that far from home … It felt like I had a future in playing music around the world.