Having won awards for his hit song “Take Me To Church”, Hozier released his second studio album back in 2019 with Wasteland, Baby!. Although gaining praise from fans, the singer took a break from the studio, not releasing another album for four years. And in 2023, Hozier entertained fans with his latest album Unreal Unearth. Besides exploring a career on and off the stage, the singer appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest. Wanting to showcase his talents, Hozier performed his hit song “Too Sweet” and even a cover of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.”
While the first round of the College Football Playoffs kicked off last night, SNL looked forward to welcoming the legendary Martin Short to the stage. Taking over hosting duties for the evening, Short brought a great deal of laughs with him. A master of the stage, the host continued to prove his mastery of comedy. But when it came time to entertain the crowd with a song, the host introduced Hozier.
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Starting the night off with “Too Sweet”, Hozier gained high praise from fans. Comments included, “I’m a die hard snl fan but Hozier is the first musical guest I’ve been genuinely excited for and actually watched both performances in full in a longggg time. I played this song on repeat all summer.” Another person admitted, “One of the few performances on SNL where it sounds as good as the recorded version. Amazing voice, one of my favorite songs of the year!”
Hozier Honors The Pogues With Special Performance
Having to perform twice during SNL, Hozier decided to use his second performance as a tribute to the band Pogues. Looking over the group’s discography, the singer decided to perform “Fairytale of New York.” First performed by Kristy MacColl and Pogues’ singer Shane McGowan, the band received a great deal of backlash as the song used “homophobic slurs.”
Hozier singing Fairytale of New York by The Pogues tonight on SNL pic.twitter.com/6YC6RNdj1k
— Hozier's Vocals (@hoziersvocalss) December 22, 2024
Speaking with NME about the history of the song and the backlash it received, member James Fearnley recalled a story from a fan. “When the BBC announced they were censoring that lyric, I was looking at Twitter where a guy said that he loved The Pogues but every Christmas when he hears drunk blokes shouting that word in the street – when they’re singing along to ‘Fairytale of New York’ – he’s reminded of the number of times he heard it when having the shit kicked out of him at school for being gay.”
As for Hozier, he continues to expand his career. His song “Too Sweet” became the first song by an Irish act to top the Billboard chart since Sinéad O’Connor. And the song was such a hit, it even ended up on the list of favorite songs of former President Barack Obama.
(Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)