About Take Me To Church

"Take Me to Church" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. It was released as his debut single on 13 September 2013, originally featuring on his extended play of the same name, before being featured as the opening track of his 2014 debut album Hozier. A struggling musician at the time of its composition, Hozier wrote and recorded the song in the attic of his parents' home in County Wicklow. A mid-tempo soul song, its lyrics use religious terminology to describe a romantic relationship. The song caught the attention of Rubyworks Records, where producer Rob Kirwan collaborated with Hozier on the final recording.

The accompanying music video premiered in September 2013, directed by Brendan Canty and Conal Thomson. It was shot in black-and-white and follows a romantic relationship between two men and the subsequent violent homophobic backlash. Upon its YouTube release in September 2013, the video quickly went 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. The song also received critical acclaim. Aided by music platforms Shazam and Spotify to become a rock radio hit in the U.S., 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). "Take Me to Church" later crossed over to the 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.