Hozier reacts after becoming first Irish act to top Billboard chart since Sinéad O’Connor

Hozier has reacted to becoming the first Irish act to top the US Billboard Singles chart since Sinéad O’Connor with his song ‘Too Sweet’.

The song reached the peak of the Billboard 100, making him only the fourth Irish artist ever to reach the summit of the chart.

O’Connor spent four weeks at Number One in 1990 with her iconic single ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. The only other Irish acts to pull off the feat are U2, with ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘With Or Without You’, and Gilbert O’Sullivan with ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’.

In a video posted on his X account, Hozier said: “I’ve been both thrilled and taken massively by surprise by such a staggering reaction. It means the world that you’re enjoying this song so much. Thank you all so much.”

A huge thank you for all the incredible support from around the world 🖤 #TooSweet has reached #1 in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and #1 for a second week in the UK and Ireland.

It means the world that you’re enjoying this song so much. Thank you all 🖤 pic.twitter.com/osMW4dB1n2

— Hozier (@Hozier) April 22, 2024

The song is taken from his EP ‘Unheard’, which was a surprise release in March. It was made up of four previously unreleased songs, all recorded during the sessions for his latest album ‘Unreal Unearth’.

The artist spoke to NME last year about his success, in particular the over 2 billion Spotify streams for his uber-hit ‘Take Me To Church’.

“I think you just check out of [looking at] the numbers. I try not to quantify to myself what a song has done based on its numbers. For me, when I wrote it, I was super-proud of it. And I’ve been incredibly proud that this song – of everything I’ve written – was the one that was a crossover hit.

“It was an unusual pop hit at the time and an unusual sort of radio success. It’s been a gift for me. But I think some internal janitorial work [is necessary] – like, stepping away from cluttering your head with ‘OK, what number is it on now?’ I’m just so grateful that it’s connected in the way that it has.”

He also responded recently to a Homer Simpson ‘cover’ of the song, which he described as “fun”, despite warning of the “more complex” questions that AI poses to the future of music.