How Hozier Became Gen Z’s ‘Forest Daddy’—And a Number One Artist

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The girls are going wild over a man on TikTok—and he’s not your typical influencer who films himself shirtless chopping wood or makes thirst trap cooking videos.

Instead, Hozier, a longtime indie musician, is having a new moment in the spotlight thanks to this online fanbase, who call him “forest daddy” and declare that his music makes them want to “gnaw on the iron bars of their enclosure.”

Hozier, real name Andrew Hozier-Byrne, is the 34-year-old Irish singer-songwriter who broke on the scene with 2014’s “Take Me to Church,” and has enjoyed an admirable musical career since. But his new, hornier fandom has catapulted him to new levels of success.

Hozier’s latest single, “Too Sweet,” became his first No. 1 song on the Billboard charts in the US (his previously highest-charting single, “Take Me to Church,” hit No. 2 more than a decade ago). The highly anticipated release on March 22 of Hozier’s Unheard EP was also a smashing success, ranking in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 shortly after its debut, and the international tour he’s currently on has had such a massive response that his team has added new shows several times.

On TikTok, the hashtag #hozier has over 220,000 posts alone on TikTok, and many creators aren’t holding back in their feral reactions to his music (and his signature “growl”). Fans make edits of their forest daddy flipping his hair, wailing on the guitar, and producing said growl when singing a particularly impassioned lyric. They are discovering his older material—like 2015’s “Work Song”—which hit No. 17 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 in February. And if you’re wondering what the moniker forest daddy could possibly mean, allow us to point to a popular Spotify playlist entitled: “Hozier songs from f**king in a forest to decomposing in the woods,” one of dozens of popular playlists devoted to his work.

What is it about Hozier that gets these young women going? The stans say they are drawn to the depth and vulnerability in his lyrics—and how he reflects that openness as a public figure.

“When I first heard his music I remember being taken aback by how soulful and incredibly raw and passionate he was,” Maya, a 19-year-old fan running the Hozier stan account @Icarians on TikTok, tells Glamour. She says she first listened to Hozier during the “Take Me To Church” era but really became a fan after the 2019 release of his sophomore album Wasteland, Baby!

And there may be something deeper to why Gen Z women, especially, feel a deep connection to Hozier’s work. Maybe it’s the idea that some young men struggle with emotional depth and intimacy, especially when it comes to expressing themselves through a vulnerable lens. Rather than daring to open up and share how they feel, many a dude will opt for a late-night “Wyd?” text or a fire emoji response to an Instagram story and call it a day.

Hozier’s art is almost the antithesis to that epidemic. After all, many love songs (much less Tinder messages) aren’t often written with such meaningful lyrics like “Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I / And I would not change it each time.”

“What I feel connects me more to him and his music is the fact that he has a way of capturing the human experience—like love, heartbreak, and very importantly, social issues—in a way that speaks to me like no other artist has,” says Maya.

For Hozier, this has all been, let’s just say, a new experience. Despite his new heartthrob status, though, he’s staying humble, telling Glamour he’s “just a guy.”

“I can enjoy the humor and the joke of it,” he says over Zoom. “I’m also keen not to invest too much into thinking about it…but, it’s funny. I get the humor and I think there's a lot of goodwill.”

Also attractive to the young women is that Hozier doesn’t shy away from speaking up on topics of justice and human rights. From feminism and reproductive rights to the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine, the singer has positioned himself as an informed, impassioned figure.

“I don’t see myself as an activist, I see myself as a citizen of the world in some respects,” he says. “I’ve experienced a lot of the world, I’m very fortunate in that regard. Do I see myself as something of a role model? I certainly would never say that I am. I would never be [that presumptuous]. I’m an individual with a conscience. And I’m an artist—I just want the art to reflect my experience of the world.”

While he may not necessarily consider himself a role model, his Gen Z fans certainly feel impressed.

“I believe one reason he’s very popular among Gen Z’ers is his progressiveness and his willingness to fight for social issues,” Maya explains. “Especially within recent years, Gen Z has begun to take a keen interest in social issues that affect them and those around the world. Hozier’s music constantly sheds light on these topics, thus sparking up conversations and inspiring listeners to take action in whatever way they can.”

When asked about why he thinks Gen Z has taken so strongly to his work, Hozier agrees that it may come down to the honest vulnerability characteristic of his early music.

“With Gen Z, there is a wonderful nose for bullshit. I struggle with the word authenticity, but it feels like something real and handmade and true to one’s lived experience,” he says. “[Gen Z] is the generation who sort of spearheaded that. I actually don’t know what it is in particular, but the first album was quite DIY. It was just guitars and drums and my voice. There’s something very real about it—maybe there’s something to the raw elements.”

Judging by the unfiltered appreciation Hozier fans show him online, it’s certainly true that something “raw” about him is highly sought-after. We’ll just leave that to the imagination.

Lexi Inks is a lifestyle journalist based in Jacksonville, Florida. She has reported on countless topics, including sexual wellness, astrology, relationship issues, non-monogamy, mental health, pop culture, and more. In addition to ‘Glamour,’ her work has been published on Bustle, Cosmopolitan, BBC, and others. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @lexiinks.

Originally Appeared on Glamour