‘Sweet’ Success: Hozier Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for First Time

Hozier’s “Too Sweet” ascends to No. 1, from No. 2, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, three weeks after it debuted at No. 5. The Irish singer-songwriter achieves his first Hot 100 leader. In his sole prior run in the top 10, he hit No. 2 with his breakthrough hit “Take Me to Church” in 2014-15.

“Too Sweet” is from Hozier’s EP Unheard, which debuted three weeks ago as his fourth Billboard 200 top 10. In 2023, he began his first U.S. tour since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic; the trek continues with international dates scheduled through November. He told Billboard ahead of the tour’s start, and reflecting anticipation for his new music, “I’m just excited to share the work live with a fan base that has been with me now for 10 years.”

Plus, Sabrina Carpenter earns her first Hot 100 top 10 as “Espresso” enters the chart at No. 7. The song follows her first top 40 hit, “Feather,” which concurrently flies to a new No. 21 high on the latest list.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated April 27, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, April 23. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Below is a look at Hozier’s Hot 100 coronation and Carpenter’s top 10 launch.

How ‘Sweet’ It Is

Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” on Rubyworks/Columbia Records, becomes the 1,169th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history. It drew 35.6 million streams (down 3%) and 14.1 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 136%, good for top Airplay Gainer honors on the Hot 100) and sold 6,000 (down 17%) April 12-18.

The single, which Hozier co-wrote and co-produced, rises 2-1 to become his first leader on the Streaming Songs chart; dips to No. 5 from its No. 3 high on Digital Song Sales; and debuts at No. 42 on Radio Songs.

The song was first widely heard via a teaser snippet during Hozier’s March 6 appearance on the How Long Gone podcast, ahead of its proper release March 22 on his four-track EP Unheard.

After Hozier’s introductory hit “Take Me to Church” reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2014-15, he remained absent from the chart until adding five entries since last April, led by Noah Kahan’s “Northern Attitude,” remixed with Hozier; the song debuted and peaked at No. 37 in November.

When “Too Sweet” debuted at No. 5 on the April 6-dated Hot 100, Hozier ended the longest wait between top 10s since The Beatles returned to the tier after nearly 28 years with “Now and Then” last November. Meanwhile, Hozier waited the longest between a first No. 2 hit and a first No. 1 since The Miracles – over 50 years ago. Their “Shop Around” hit No. 2 in February 1961 before “The Tears of a Clown,” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, led in December 1970, a span of nine years, nine months and three weeks; Hozier waited nine years, four months and one week between the peaks of “Take Me to Church” and “Too Sweet.”

“Too Sweet” adds a fourth week at No. 1 on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart – where it’s Hozier’s second leader, after “Take Me to Church,” for 23 weeks in 2014-15 – as well as Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs.

Ireland Back at No. 1 in the U.S.

“Too Sweet” marks the fifth Hot 100 No. 1 by an Irish act. It’s the first since Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” in 1990 and the first by a male soloist since Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” over a half-century ago.

Here’s a rundown of all Hot 100 No. 1s by Irish acts:

• Hozier, “Too Sweet,” hit No. 1 April 27, 2024, one week at No. 1 to date
• Sinéad O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” April 21, 1990, four weeks
• U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Aug. 8, 1987, two
• U2, “With or Without You,” May 16, 1987, three
• Gilbert O’Sullivan, “Alone Again (Naturally),” July 29, 1972, six

Hozier was born in Newcastle, County Wicklow, Ireland, on March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day, of course – in 1990 (a little over a month before O’Connor’s signature hit became the last Hot 100 No. 1 by an Irish act until “Too Sweet”). Additionally, “Too Sweet” tops the Ireland Songs chart for a third week.

‘One Sweet,’ ‘Too Sweet’

Hozier’s “Too Sweet” is also just the fifth Hot 100 No. 1 with the word “sweet” in its title.

Here’s a look at all such confections to top the Hot 100:

• “Too Sweet,” Hozier, 2024
• “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995-96
• “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses, 1988
• “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Eurythmics, 1983
• “My Sweet Lord”/“Isn’t It a Pity,” George Harrison, 1970-71

(Additional sugar high: Sweet Sensation’s “If Wishes Came True” led the Hot 100 in 1990.)

Shot of ‘Espresso’

Sabrina Carpenter brews up her first Hot 100 top 10 as “Espresso” debuts on the chart at No. 7. Released April 12, it drew 19.8 million streams and 5.1 million in airplay audience and sold 4,000 in its first week.

The song enters the Hot 100 while Carpenter’s first top 40 hit, and first Pop Airplay chart No. 1, “Feather,” rises to a new No. 21 high on the latest Hot 100. It also follows the singer-songwriter and actress’s performances at both weekends of this year’s Coachella festival. She previously supported Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour for 30 dates from last August through March.

‘Like That’ Leads Rest of Top 10

Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” drops to No. 2 after spending its first three weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 1. It concurrently tops the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multimetric methodology as the Hot 100, for a fourth week each.

Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” keeps at No. 4, four weeks after becoming his first No. 1. The latter logs a second week atop Radio Songs (69.9 million, essentially even week-over-week).

Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” rises 6-5 on the Hot 100, after it reigned for two weeks in early March. It leads the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart for a 10th week.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” lifts 7-6, following six nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in December; Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” is steady at No. 8, after it debuted at No. 1 in March; Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” climbs to a new No. 9 high, from No. 10; and SZA’s No. 6-peaking “Saturn” returns to the region (15-10), as it leads Hot R&B Songs for a fourth week.

Also notably, and expectedly – with limited availability for it to be streamed in the April 12-18 tracking week – J. Cole’s “7 Minute Drill” falls off the Hot 100, a week after it debuted at No. 6. On the song, he appears to respond to Lamar’s apparent disses directed at himself and Drake in “Like That.” Days after releasing “7 Minute Drill” April 5 on his album Might Delete Later, J. Cole apologized for the its arrival, explaining that it doesn’t “sit right with my spirit,” and the track was removed from the streaming edition of the LP April 12; as of April 22, it is still available on the set’s digital download edition, although not for individual purchase apart from the album.

The song rewrites the record for the steepest drop off the Hot 100 a week after debuting, surpassing Soko’s viral hit “We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow,” which spent a week on the survey at No. 9 in April 2014.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated April 27), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (April 23).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.