Take Me to Church by Hozier

"Take Me to Church" is a song by Irish musician Hozier. It was released on his debut extended play (EP) and later his self-titled debut album (2014). The song was released as his debut single on 13 September 2013 as a free download. Hozier, a struggling musician at the time of its writing, wrote and recorded the song in the attic of his parents' home in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. A mid-tempo soul song, its lyrics use religious terminology to describe a romantic relationship. The song first caught the attention of independent label Rubyworks, where producer Rob Kirwan overdubbed the original demo with live instruments. Only two musicians feature on the track: Andrew Hozier-Byrne (Hozier) and drummer Fiachra Kinder.The music video contributed to the song's widespread popularity. Directed by Brendan Canty and Conal Thomson of small production company Feel Good Lost, it follows a relationship between two men and the subsequent violent homophobic backlash. Upon its YouTube release in September 2013, the video quickly began to go viral, leading to Hozier's subsequent license with Columbia Records US and Island Records UK. In 2014, the song achieved widespread global popularity, topping the charts in 12 countries and reaching the top 10 in 21 other territories. Aided by music platforms Shazam and Spotify to become a rock radio hit in the US, the song spent 23 consecutive weeks at the top of the Hot Rock Songs chart, tied with Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" as the longest-running number-one in its chart-history (at the time), later crossing over to the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number two in December 2014. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards and has been certified five times platinum in the US. On 16 April 2016, Hozier released the original Take Me To Church EP on special edition 12-inch vinyl picture disc for Record Store Day UK, the first time the EP was available as a physical release.