CMAT

A self-described worldwide pop sensation hailing from Dublin, CMAT produces bright, airwave-suited tunes steeped in country styling. She draws equal inspiration from Dolly Parton and Katy Perry while dissecting ordinary existence through garish pop-culture references, touching on personal bonds, psychological well-being, and self-perception with earnest purpose and a wry wit. Though her work often rests on apparent tensions, she delivered a coherent artistic statement with her debut full-length If My Wife New I'd Be Dead, issued in 2022. Country elements receded on the follow-up Crazymad, For Me in 2023, yet its eleven tracks probed the collapse of a relationship with sharper emotional force.

Born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson in North Dublin in 1996, she adopted the stage name CMAT as a shortened form of her birth name. Her early listening blended current pop with vintage country, with Johnny Cash a particular regional favorite and many evenings spent at local bars watching patrons attempt Nashville covers. She began creating music at age seventeen; after moving to Manchester, England, she first drew notice as one half of Bad Sea alongside Alan Farrell, whom she met through the dating app Tinder. Although the duo received strong coverage, the partnership ended quickly. While considering her next step, Thompson attended a session offering feedback on unreleased material by Charli XCX and stood out as the sole participant to voice direct criticism, prompting Charli to contact her and urge a complete reset with fresh creative direction.

Thompson returned to Ireland, briefly enrolled in college, then prioritized her mental health, left school, took employment at a clothing retailer, and moved in with her grandparents. She set herself the task of completing one new song each week; over six months she shared video recordings of the results online and arranged occasional live sets at a neighborhood yoga studio. In 2020 she issued her first singles, “I Don’t Really Care for You” and “I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby,” which accumulated substantial streaming figures and BBC Radio One rotation. She signed with AWAL Recordings, and If My Wife New I'd Be Dead appeared in February 2022.

The album achieved commercial success in Ireland, entering at number one on the strength of the single “Peter Bogdanovich,” whose video featured CMAT portraying the director. In March 2023 the record received the Choice Music Prize for outstanding Irish album of the year. While absorbing the recognition, she traveled to Norway to record her second album with producer Matias Téllez. Released in October 2023, Crazymad, For Me was presented by CMAT as a three-part concept work centered on a damaging relationship that also incorporated malfunctioning time travel and an unintended excursion to 1890s Paris.