Irish singer-songwriter Hozier has landed on TIME's list of the "100 Most Influential People of 2025," which was published today, Wednesday, April 16.
The Wicklow native, real name Andrew Hozier-Byrne, joins the likes of Ed Sheeran and Scarlett Johansson in the 'Artists' portion of TIME's annual feature.
"The 2025 TIME100 list of the world's most influential people recognizes the leaders shaping the world today and defining its future," TIME Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said.
Project editor Cate Matthews added: “The stories this project tells change with the headlines, so every May, our research starts anew.
"The one constant we see each year is that a single person’s hard work, idea, or decision can change the world."
The TIME100 list includes pairings of the list members and the guest contributors TIME selects to write about them.
For Hozier, fellow singer-songwriter Noah Kahan was selected to share a few words, and he was unflinching in his praise.
"When an artist can create a sound so beautiful and melancholy, so full of symbolism and truth that you feel they must be from a different time, or a better world, you can’t help but believe in magic," Kahan wrote.
"Hozier had me believing from the first note.
"His music became the barometer for my own: How can I make a song feel like an extension of my soul, the way Hozier does? How can I create a voice, a language, like he has?
"It was easy to imagine Hozier as a folk deity in the forests of Ireland until I met him. At a festival in 2023, he asked if I wanted to sing together. I ran into him in a hotel lobby, in sweaty golf clothes with a bag of fast food in my hand—not how I envisioned this moment. Fortunately, he is as kind as they come. We spoke about the performance, and I pinched myself as I stuffed fries in my face on the way upstairs.
"Performing with him was one of the greatest moments of my life. And when we collaborated on my song 'Northern Attitude,' I didn’t believe it was truly happening until I heard his voice on the track.
"I’m not sure where my life would’ve gone if I hadn’t been exposed to his music. Thank you, Hozier, for sharing your gift with us mere mortals."
You can listen to Noah Kahan and Hozier's "Northern Attitude" here:
'A moment that felt like Hozier's yell'
As it happens, a snippet of Hozier's feature on Kahan's "Northern Attitude" has given way to an online trend where users share generally heartwarming (or humorous) videos backed by Hozier's "yell" from about 2:17 in the song, adding the caption "a moment that felt like Hozier's yell."
According to Rolling Stone, it was actually Kahan who first posted the audio of Hozier's "yell" on TikTok while teasing the collaboration ahead of its release back in 2023.
"But what started as excitement over a recorded performance between the two singers quickly morphed into genuine joy over the emotions that viewers got from a 15-second soulful 'Hey!' ad-lib that Hozier sings in the middle of the song.
"People describe it as making them feel weightless, invincible, or downright euphoric — and began using the small portion of the song alongside videos that capture that very feeling and captioning it 'a moment that felt like Hozier’s yell.'"
Influential, indeed.
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