Today is the 5th anniversary of the day Hozier’s video for Take Me To Church was first uploaded to YouTube. Since then, the official video has had more than 600 million views on YouTube and VEVO and has become an iconic piece of work.

Produced on a €1,500 budget and posted with modest expectations, this is the video that catapulted Hozier’s career forward with lightning speed. The song would go on to smash records for the next few years and, to this day, is still on the iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music charts: from Dominica (#24) to Gambia (#194) and Azerbaijan (#191) to Nicaragua (#188), Take Me To Church continues to have a global impact.

Get to know the origins

To celebrate the anniversary, we’ve got 3 in-depth articles on the early days of the Take Me To Church video that will give you a look at how it all happened.

Part 1: The Making of the Take Me To Church Video

We look at how the video was made and the busy days between Hozier’s EP launch and it being uploaded to YouTube. The article is loaded with behind the scenes clips of the shoot and information on the video production and actors. (And yes, Hozier is in the video.) READ MORE



Part 2: The Take Me To Church Video Goes Viral

The video was posted to Reddit and it started its viral rise. On the first day, it received a surprising 100,000 views. Within 9 days, 15 senior international record label reps were present at Hozier’s showcase in Dublin. On day 13, it had caused ripples internationally and Billboard ran a piece on its viral velocity. READ MORE

Addendum: In an interview with Wave 105 Radio in the UK from September 2018, Hozier was asked about the video concept and Stephen Fry’s involvement. It’s nice to hear Hozier talk about it again, 5 years later.



A Hozier Story: Coming Full Circle on Reddit

When Hozier did his first Reddit AMA in 2016, Hozier’s Guitars tracked down the person who originally uploaded the Take Me To Church video and had him show up to ask about that long-promised pint. The origin story ended up in the Top 10 on Reddit. READ MORE

Thanks to all of our contributors with special thanks to @literarypengke and @Megn0481.

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Featured image: Screenshot from the Take Me To Church video, graphic by Hozier’s Guitars.