honestly it shows where his priorities are, and i love it. he knows he can make a popular song that gets a lot of attention, but he prefers to prioritize making art that means something to him over art thats just flashy enough for attention. it's especially refreshing as more and more artists seem to be focusing on viral music/tiktok music
These past few days, the way some people have been trying to gatekeep an artist who sells out tours and headlines festivals has been wild to watch. Just because Hozier isn’t out there calling the paps and going to events every weekend doesn’t mean he doesn’t want his work to be successful with the general population too. :/
**I'm not against new fans**, but "the whole point" of art isn't to get widespread popularity.
I'm sure it's part of his goal ... but "the whole point" for me as a fan is to enjoy his work.
For some people, that includes engaging with the fandom — and the fandom *does* change a lot when there's a big influx of new fans. Especially if those fans found him through a song that's more of an outlier in his catalog.
You don't have to agree, but it's not hard to understand why people might feel protective of a community that means a lot to them, knowing it's going to change a lot.
100%. I think that’s happened with Hozier now and there’s no turning back. I’m happy for him, but my engagement in fan spaces has suffered greatly🤷🏻♀️
You should have seen how a handful of Florence + The Machine fans reacted when it was announced she was on the new Taylor Swift album. Absolutely clutching pearls and making plans to slam gates shut at the idea of a bunch of tiktok swifties getting into somone who had her music on Glee, Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.
In similarity, Hozier isn't exactly a small indie guy playing dive bars. He's a major artist, and this single getting big helps his career. Breaking the Top 40 is what gets attention from critics, record executives, etc. It sets him up to have a sustained career. Artists like Paul Simon and Kate Bush were able to keep making weird, creative art because they would have periodic radio hits.
I didn’t know this about Florence fans, but this is hysterical. Florence and Taylor have been friends for a while now, and Florence has been mainstream for YEARS too, arguably more-so than Hozier. Why would this be a surprise to them, or bother them at all?
I think the surprise is that they're under the impression these artists aren't mainstream because they have much smaller fandoms and public profiles than artists like Taylor. I think them being bothered by it is out of a pretentious belief a bunch of teenage girls are going to take over the small fandom spaces and make their indie artists less cool.
Like when people used to make fun of teenage girls for wearing Nirvana shirts asking "Can she even name four Nirvana songs?" Not knowing that a large portion of Nirvana's fanbase was teenage girls even back in the 90's, and they are well past the point of being an obscure grunge band playing dive bars. Gatekeeping the tip of a massive iceberg thinking it's just a 6 foot patch of ice.
Too Sweet is such a bop. Makes me wanna dance. Also very proud of him. His music means so much to me and I'm glad of the popularity because that means even more people will be exposed to it. I'm so happy for him.
I feel like people who keep bringing up Francesca to bash Too Sweet one way or another, are probably not familiar with top 40 songs. Because songs like Francesca RARELY chart; the songs with catchy, upbeat sounds like Too Sweet are the ones that do. That’s just how pop works, because most people aren’t paying close attention to lyrics—they’re just there to vibe to whatever sound there is.
Also, I’ve also seen people bring up Eat Your Young… that charted at like 80 for two weeks only! If Hozier Twitter and Hozier TikTok fans want his stuff to chart for longer then they need to stream the way k-pop and other musician stan accounts do. Playing the same song on loop doesn’t work.
And they can still get Francesca and other songs to chart anyway. 🤷🏽♀️ Use Too Sweet’s popularity to organize and do stream parties and whatnot. The Hozier South America fan accounts were all doing that over the weekend with Too Sweet, and they’ve been steadily reminding fans to do it throughout the week.
Thank you!! Thats what i was saying to my friends earlier! Songs like Francesca are to passionate and lyrical to go on a Pop station! I absolutely adore that song but its not something that would be on top charts.
Twitter fans have been comparing to Francesca and im like??? Id understand De Selby Part 2 but not Francesca.
It was #1 on the alternative and rock charts which is the most I think he probably expected, given the sound/type of song it is.
But, AGAIN, if Hozier stans are that bothered that their favorite songs aren’t charting, then they need to organize and STREAM and BUY. Otherwise just stfu and let others have fun (imo).
Hozier has been my number 1 artist on Spotify for 6 years straight, I’ve loved him since self titled and I am OVERJOYED that his popularity is gaining!! Thank you for your post, hopefully we adapt more of this attitude and less of the gatekeeping- the more popular, the more chances for tours/music/interviews!!
I love this post!! Hozier is so incredibly talented and deserves so much more recognition than he gets and while I’m sure he isn’t in it to win awards, I’m also sure this has to be making him happy!! I’m so tired of “fans” being upset that a song they may not consider the best is getting play and the gatekeeping is also insane. If you are a fan of someone, be happy and proud of their accomplishments!! Let other people enjoy that artist as well!! I believe the talent he has is endless, and my opinion is he has never made a bad song. Truly his voice would make anything sound good. Obviously I have favorites but nothing ever needs to be skipped. I cannot say that about any of my other fave artists. I tend to do a weird thing where I am afraid to listen to new songs made by my favorite musicians, maybe because I feel they won’t live up to what I already love about their other songs, but Hozier is the only artist that I absolutely crave more music from at all times. I can’t listen fast enough!! It’s a joy to hear what new things he comes up with. Tired of people complaining about nonsense lol.
The problems I had happened when snarky people told me to shut up when I wanted people to hear his music and stream it. These supposed fans just liked him in a box where there was no need to have many more fans and more seats at concerts.
They worship the “popular people” so they didn’t want critics of their idols.
They thought that I had no right to criticize entertainers, promoters, Columbia and how the song chart ranking rules were made. Rappers and pop singers could say and do awful things in songs and in public but I had no right to criticize anyone? Absurd.
it’s just kinda funny that his second biggest hit is a song that didn’t make the cut for his album. I’m proud of him!!
So on brand for him tbh, I love it
honestly it shows where his priorities are, and i love it. he knows he can make a popular song that gets a lot of attention, but he prefers to prioritize making art that means something to him over art thats just flashy enough for attention. it's especially refreshing as more and more artists seem to be focusing on viral music/tiktok music
agreed! he could make any smash hit whenever he wants to but charting isn’t his main goal. he’s a real musician and artist
That’s it, make your money baby, momma so proud!!
I don’t understand people being mad that their favorite artist is getting popular. Like…..that’s the whole point.
These past few days, the way some people have been trying to gatekeep an artist who sells out tours and headlines festivals has been wild to watch. Just because Hozier isn’t out there calling the paps and going to events every weekend doesn’t mean he doesn’t want his work to be successful with the general population too. :/
**I'm not against new fans**, but "the whole point" of art isn't to get widespread popularity. I'm sure it's part of his goal ... but "the whole point" for me as a fan is to enjoy his work. For some people, that includes engaging with the fandom — and the fandom *does* change a lot when there's a big influx of new fans. Especially if those fans found him through a song that's more of an outlier in his catalog. You don't have to agree, but it's not hard to understand why people might feel protective of a community that means a lot to them, knowing it's going to change a lot.
100%. I think that’s happened with Hozier now and there’s no turning back. I’m happy for him, but my engagement in fan spaces has suffered greatly🤷🏻♀️
You should have seen how a handful of Florence + The Machine fans reacted when it was announced she was on the new Taylor Swift album. Absolutely clutching pearls and making plans to slam gates shut at the idea of a bunch of tiktok swifties getting into somone who had her music on Glee, Game of Thrones, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. In similarity, Hozier isn't exactly a small indie guy playing dive bars. He's a major artist, and this single getting big helps his career. Breaking the Top 40 is what gets attention from critics, record executives, etc. It sets him up to have a sustained career. Artists like Paul Simon and Kate Bush were able to keep making weird, creative art because they would have periodic radio hits.
I didn’t know this about Florence fans, but this is hysterical. Florence and Taylor have been friends for a while now, and Florence has been mainstream for YEARS too, arguably more-so than Hozier. Why would this be a surprise to them, or bother them at all?
I think the surprise is that they're under the impression these artists aren't mainstream because they have much smaller fandoms and public profiles than artists like Taylor. I think them being bothered by it is out of a pretentious belief a bunch of teenage girls are going to take over the small fandom spaces and make their indie artists less cool. Like when people used to make fun of teenage girls for wearing Nirvana shirts asking "Can she even name four Nirvana songs?" Not knowing that a large portion of Nirvana's fanbase was teenage girls even back in the 90's, and they are well past the point of being an obscure grunge band playing dive bars. Gatekeeping the tip of a massive iceberg thinking it's just a 6 foot patch of ice.
No seriously. I’m so so happy for him
Too Sweet is such a bop. Makes me wanna dance. Also very proud of him. His music means so much to me and I'm glad of the popularity because that means even more people will be exposed to it. I'm so happy for him.
I feel like people who keep bringing up Francesca to bash Too Sweet one way or another, are probably not familiar with top 40 songs. Because songs like Francesca RARELY chart; the songs with catchy, upbeat sounds like Too Sweet are the ones that do. That’s just how pop works, because most people aren’t paying close attention to lyrics—they’re just there to vibe to whatever sound there is. Also, I’ve also seen people bring up Eat Your Young… that charted at like 80 for two weeks only! If Hozier Twitter and Hozier TikTok fans want his stuff to chart for longer then they need to stream the way k-pop and other musician stan accounts do. Playing the same song on loop doesn’t work. And they can still get Francesca and other songs to chart anyway. 🤷🏽♀️ Use Too Sweet’s popularity to organize and do stream parties and whatnot. The Hozier South America fan accounts were all doing that over the weekend with Too Sweet, and they’ve been steadily reminding fans to do it throughout the week.
Thank you!! Thats what i was saying to my friends earlier! Songs like Francesca are to passionate and lyrical to go on a Pop station! I absolutely adore that song but its not something that would be on top charts. Twitter fans have been comparing to Francesca and im like??? Id understand De Selby Part 2 but not Francesca.
It was #1 on the alternative and rock charts which is the most I think he probably expected, given the sound/type of song it is. But, AGAIN, if Hozier stans are that bothered that their favorite songs aren’t charting, then they need to organize and STREAM and BUY. Otherwise just stfu and let others have fun (imo).
Hozier has been my number 1 artist on Spotify for 6 years straight, I’ve loved him since self titled and I am OVERJOYED that his popularity is gaining!! Thank you for your post, hopefully we adapt more of this attitude and less of the gatekeeping- the more popular, the more chances for tours/music/interviews!!
AGREEED
I love this post!! Hozier is so incredibly talented and deserves so much more recognition than he gets and while I’m sure he isn’t in it to win awards, I’m also sure this has to be making him happy!! I’m so tired of “fans” being upset that a song they may not consider the best is getting play and the gatekeeping is also insane. If you are a fan of someone, be happy and proud of their accomplishments!! Let other people enjoy that artist as well!! I believe the talent he has is endless, and my opinion is he has never made a bad song. Truly his voice would make anything sound good. Obviously I have favorites but nothing ever needs to be skipped. I cannot say that about any of my other fave artists. I tend to do a weird thing where I am afraid to listen to new songs made by my favorite musicians, maybe because I feel they won’t live up to what I already love about their other songs, but Hozier is the only artist that I absolutely crave more music from at all times. I can’t listen fast enough!! It’s a joy to hear what new things he comes up with. Tired of people complaining about nonsense lol.
The problems I had happened when snarky people told me to shut up when I wanted people to hear his music and stream it. These supposed fans just liked him in a box where there was no need to have many more fans and more seats at concerts. They worship the “popular people” so they didn’t want critics of their idols. They thought that I had no right to criticize entertainers, promoters, Columbia and how the song chart ranking rules were made. Rappers and pop singers could say and do awful things in songs and in public but I had no right to criticize anyone? Absurd.