Hozier performed “Too Sweet” and a cover of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” on Saturday Night Live. Watch footage of the performance below.
Read more: Hozier interview: ‘There’s always been room for my own conscience in my work’
Last night (December 21), the singer-songwriter appeared on the show for the first time since debuting on the series in 2014. Introduced by Martin Short, he performed his smash hit ‘Too Sweet’, taken from this year’s surprise release. Unheard EP”.
The March record includes four previously unreleased songs, all of which were recorded during the Unreal Unearth sessions. In April, the success of “Too Sweet” made the singer the first Irish artist since Sinead O’Connor to top the Billboard charts, and more recently on President Barack Obama’s annual Song of the Year list. It secured the first place on the list.
The “Take Me To Church” singer also performed a rendition of 1987’s “Fairytale of New York.” The Christmas track, performed by Kirsty MacColl and Pogues frontman Shane McGowan, features homophobic slurs in its lyrics, with Hozier’s backing singers saying, “You’re cheap and haggard. No.”
The issue resurfaced in 2019 when actress and screenwriter Ruth Jones faced backlash after Gavin and Stacey featured the lyrics in that year’s Christmas TV special. When the BBC first announced it would censor the lyrics, Laurence Fox criticized the broadcaster on Twitter, prompting the band’s official account to hit back at him.
In a recent interview with NME, the band’s surviving members James Fearnley, Jem Finer and Spider Stacey all weighed in on the annual debate.
When asked what the band thought about the culture war over the song, Stacey mentioned his public spat with Foxx, saying: “We don’t want to get into anything because of people like Laurence Foxx.” he said.
Hozier singing The Pogues’ New York Fairytale on SNL tonight pic.twitter.com/6YC6RNdj1k
— Hozier’s Vocals (@hoziersvocalss) December 22, 2024
He continued: “When the BBC announced they were going to censor those lyrics, I was on Twitter and there was this guy who said he loved The Pogues, but every Christmas, there are drunk guys on the streets. I heard him shouting those words. I remembered hearing that song many times when I was being kicked out of school for being gay while singing “New York Fairy Tale.” ”
Meanwhile, Hozier was recently confirmed as Reading & Leeds’ first headliner. He will take the top spot at the 2025 edition of Twinsight Festival, alongside Chapel Lawn, Travis Scott and Bring Me the Horizon.
