Nina Cried Power

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"Nina Cried Power"
Hozier featuring Mavis Staples
from the EP Nina Cried Power and the album Wasteland, Baby!
Released6 September 2018
Length3:45
Label
Hozier
Producer(s)
Hozier
singles chronology
"Better Love"
(2016) 		"Nina Cried Power"
(2018) 		"Movement"
(2018)
Music video
"Nina Cried Power" on
YouTube

"Nina Cried Power" is a song recorded by Irish singer-songwriter

Hozier, featuring vocals from American rhythm and blues and gospel singer Mavis Staples. It was released on 6 September 2018 as the lead single from Hozier's second studio album Wasteland, Baby!
.

Writing and composition

"Nina Cried Power" is the first track on the album, written by Hozier alone. The song is described as a "soulful anthem" and contains

Civil Rights Movement, declaring that "It's not the waking, it's the rising."[4]

After touring his debut album, Hozier took a one-year hiatus from his work, residing in Ireland, to "re-connect".[5] He stated that he became a "news junkie" and wrote much of the album's material "trying to reconcile" his own "concerns and anxieties" regarding humanity when the Doomsday Clock moved to two minutes to midnight in 2018.[6][7] Staples influenced the record's musical conception; "Nina Cried Power" was originally written on the piano while Hozier strived to make "music that hit a little bit harder, that leaned in to rhythm a little bit more".[7] Hozier has stated that his musical education was "grounded" in Chicago blues artists like Nina Simone and many of the artists receiving nods in the song have frequently been cited as his influences; he has previously stressed the importance of "crediting the legacy you're crediting".[8][9]

Critical response

"Nina Cried Power" was lauded by critics.

Consequence of Sound praised the opening track for its "upbeat, joyous quality, testifying to the emotional material to come."[1]

Commercial performance

The song peaked at number ten on the Irish Singles Chart, scoring Top 50 positions in the US, the Netherlands, Scotland, New Zealand, and Belgium.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

Music video

This song was intended as a thank you note to the spirit and legacy of protest; to the artists who imbued their work with the vigour of dissent, and a reflection on the importance of that tradition in the context of the rights, and lives, we enjoy today. My hope for this video is much the same.

— Hozier, The Irish Times[2]

The official music video for "Nina Cried Power" was released on 12 September 2018.

Bernadette McAliskey.[16] The video was filmed in Dublin, and features the activists wearing headphones while wordlessly reacting to the powerful anthem for the first time.[16] The video has amassed over 13 million views on YouTube.[17]

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[18] 30
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[19] 33
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 10
Netherlands Single Tip (
MegaCharts)[21]
 28
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[22] 27
Scotland (OCC)[23] 42
UK Singles (OCC)[24]
 87

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b "Hozier Picks Up Where He Left off on Wasteland, Baby!". COS. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Hozier: Wasteland, Baby! – Track by track review of his new album". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (28 February 2019). "Wasteland Baby! Review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "'Wasteland, Baby' Highlights Hozier As an Impactful Voice in the Art and Activism Sphere". PopMatters. March 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview: Hozier Talks 'Wasteland, Baby!' & New Collaborators". Idolator. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Hozier talks new album 'Wasteland, Baby!' and the legacy of 'Take Me To Church'". NME. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  7. ^ a b "For Hozier, the joy in 'Wasteland! Baby' comes from the journey". Spokesman. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  8. ^ Llana, Kaplan (22 September 2014). "Interview Magazine". In the Middle with Hozier. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Hozier on Seamus Heaney, Maltesers and why Nina Simone turns his brain inside out". The Guardian. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Scottish Singles". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  11. ^ "NZ Top 40". New Zealand Charts.
  12. ^ "Weekly Charts". Netherlands Singles Chart.
  13. ^ "Hozier". Ultratop. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Hozier". Ultratop. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Hozier". Irish Charts. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "New Hozier video for 'Nina Cried Power' pays tribute to Irish activists". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Nina Cried Power". Youtube. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  18. Ultratip
    . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  19. Ultratip
    . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Hozier". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  21. Mega Charts
    . 27 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  22. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Hozier – Nina Cried Power". Music Canada. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
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