Hozier is loved in Ireland. Not just in this country in fact, but all over the world.
The Wicklow native has produced some incredible music over the past few years, with the type of musical repertoire that very few can match. On top of all of that, he seems like a genuinely nice guy.
There were many brilliant moments during RTÉ's Comic Relief last night. Most of them came in the form of comedy, but there were some emotional segments as well.
Hozier stole the show with his rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', which he performed in an empty and eerily beautiful Croke Park. It was a stunning performance, spine-tingling performance.
It all raises the question, is Hozier appreciated enough in this country?
He is certainly loved in Ireland, but you get the feeling that he isn't appreciated quite enough. There are few people in the world of music that could pull off a performance such as this one, a sentiment expressed by Niall Breslin last night.
I Geniunely feel @Hozier may be the most complete and best vocalist in the world right now. What he can do is on an entirely different plant #rtedoescomicrelief
— Niall Breslin (@nbrez) June 26, 2020
As a country, we have produced no shortage of musical superstars down through the years. There is a strong argument to be made that Hozier is the most talented of the lot.
He doesn't crave the limelight, which is perhaps one of the reasons he is not as frequent in our lives as we would want him to be. For him, it is very much about the music.
That is something to be admired. Appearing on The Tommy Tiernan Show earlier this year, he explained why he avoids things like social media and interviews as much as possible:
I try to avoid it. I get very anxious going on the record over anything, even interviews like this I suppose...
There's the fear of social reprisals, there is that. I think it's more that the more you try to explain yourself, the more you'll end up being misunderstood anyway. There's an anxiety there I suppose.
I've kind of managed to avoid it, there was a time when I would have been more active in putting my voice out there.
There is for certain things that I would feel strongly about, like the marriage referendum here or something like that, if you have a platform and feel you can offer a boost like that in some sort of way.
But unless it's about something I think is very useful I try to be careful in what I say.
This partly explains that why Hozier may not be thought of by some as being in the same calibre of stardom as other musicians, but that has to change.
His music deserves as much. While he may not be all that outspoken on social media, Hozier's music is often used to tackle tough issues in life such as domestic abuse and opposition to religion, something few other mainstream musical stars would even consider.
The 29-year old is somewhat unique in that regard, and he does not see himself going down the road of avoiding the difficult issues anytime soon, something he spoke about in the Irish Times last year:
I write for myself. I write for things that I enjoy or things that I believe in, or things to reconcile sh*t. I don’t write for a room...
Bands and acts do get to that stage where they start writing songs for stadium stuff. Yeah, it happens. Maybe it’s – I don’t know – because they see that it pays off?
Maybe they just want to write happy music and make people dance. I get that too. Avoid the difficult stuff. I don’t know. I’m not quite there yet.
That's why his repeated appearances for worthy causes, such as last night or on The Late Late Show a few months ago, are so befitting of the man.
The fact that he is one of the most talented musicians you will ever hear is just icing on the cake.
To donate to Comic Relief, you can click here.
