Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, more popularly known as Hozier was a struggling Irish musician when he was writing this powerful song, he wrote and recorded this song in the attic of his parents’ house, and the song was even released as his debut single back in 2013 as a free download.
“Take Me to Church” became a MEGAHIT and propelled his way to stardom!
At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year and became a rock radio hit in the U.S.!
Actually, it is, so far, his biggest hit song as a musical artist. The song has been certified 6× platinum in Ireland and claimed international recognition, and has been certified as multi-platinum in several countries, including the US, the UK, and Canada. It also peaked at the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
With all these credentials, Hozier decided to sing his BEST song in a subway.
The New York City Subway is known as the largest rapid transit system in the world by the number of its stations, having 472 stations in operation.
It is no longer a surprise for this famous subway to host such a performance from a globally-known musical artist like Hozier.
keanu reeves riding the subway pic.twitter.com/k4vr00vVxv
— keanu doing things (@keanuthings) July 9, 2018
Oh, and by the way, who could forget Matrix and John Wick actor, Keanu Reeves? This humble Hollywood star is also known for taking the subway. A video of him even went viral when he offered his seat to a lady, a true gentleman!
Fasten your seatbelts because this performance will certainly give you a rollercoaster of emotions!
Backed with a mini keyboard, tambourine, and a couple of singers as second voices, the 30-year-old musician from Ireland goes for a quiet but soulful intro.
Just seconds after, the usually busy and noisy subway, turns solemn, with only Hozier’s powerful voice resounding in the entire place.
The video of his performance was uploaded by SubwayCreatures on YouTube and it looked like he sang a couple more to the lucky subway commuters that day.
They wrote in the video’s description:
“Hozier performed a few songs for commuters…”
It’s a magnificent show in the shadows.
Before striking the chorus part, Hozier turns and gets himself ready for the heartfelt lyrics of his self-written song.
“Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life”
It is indeed a display of his vocal prowess and to witness it in such a humble place like a subway is downright chilling.
You may have already seen some talented buskers in public but this one is just extraordinary. It is rare, and it separates itself from whatever performance that you’ve imagined seeing in the open.
To no one’s surprise, the video of his subway performance went viral.
As of this writing, the video has already amassed over 39 million views and 1.8 million likes! It’s nothing short of what we expected, it’s just like the official music video of the song that has over 393 million hits!
Someone from the online viewers was amazed by Hozier’s humility:
“I love the fact that Hozier looks like a regular person and isn’t flashing what he gots I love it”
While another one wrote:
“Can we appreciate that he performed this perfectly even without a microphone, he was just projecting his voice! It just shows his control and talent in my opinion.”
We couldn’t agree more with the comments, Hozier really is an artist with tremendous humility and talent.
The world is so lucky to have him as a musical artist, we can’t wait for this pandemic to be over and see him perform live again someday, even in a subway.
For now, you can catch his chilling, impromptu subway performance in the video below.
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