CMAT (musician)

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

CMAT
CMAT, Brooklyn, March 2022 2 (cropped).jpg
CMAT performing in 2022
Background information
Birth nameCiara Mary-Alice Thompson
Born (1996-02-23) 23 February 1996 (age 28)
Origin County Meath, Ireland
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2017 (2017)–present
Labels
Website cmatbaby.com

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (born 23 February 1996), known professionally as CMAT ( /ˈsmæt/ , SEE-mat), is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. [1] Her debut studio album, If My Wife New I'd Be Dead , was released in February 2022 and entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one. [2] The Guardian wrote of her music, "Her songs are mournful yet accessible, emotionally literate and cleverly crafted, but, crucially, with a huge sense of humour..." [3] Her second studio album, Crazymad, for Me , was released in October 2023.

Contents

Early life

CMAT was born on 23 February 1996 in Dublin, and moved with her family to Clonee and Dunboyne in County Meath as a child. [4] She returned to Dublin to study at Trinity College Dublin, [5] but left the college and moved to Denmark. [6]

Career

CMAT, who had aspirations to become a professional musician from a young age, relocated to Manchester, England, to pursue a career in music with her then boyfriend, performing together as Bad Sea. [7] [8] [1] [9] She has since described their relationship as toxic and isolating, and she stopped pursuing a music career, living a partying lifestyle. [9] She attended an in-person listening session at a London studio with the English electropop singer Charli XCX, who advised CMAT to reimagine her approach. [10]

Breaking up with her boyfriend and returning to Ireland, she began self-releasing her music online to considerable attention and received radio play from RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. [11] [12] [13] [14] Her debut studio album If My Wife New I'd Be Dead was released in February 2022. Metacritic, which aggregates review scores, gives the album a score of 85 based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [15] Hot Press magazine wrote that the album was "undoubtedly one of the most thrilling Irish pop debuts of the century". [16] In a four-star review, DIY wrote, "If My Wife New... feels like a more well-rounded, modern proposition than one solely indebted to the oldest style going could suggest." [17] The album entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one. [18] In June 2022, she released a single called "Peter Bogdanovich", which came with a music video which featured CMAT dressing as the late director. [19] [20] On 19 August 2022, "Peter Bogdanovich" [21] charted at number 20 on the Irish Homegrown Top 20. [22] In March 2023, If My Wife New I'd Be Dead won the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year. [23]

In June 2023, CMAT announced her next studio album, Crazymad, for Me , [24] which was released in October 2023. Like her previous album, this album debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart. [25] Her album was later nominated for the Best Album Ivor Novello Award on Thursday 23 May 2024. [26]

CMAT has been noted for her large fanbase among Irish LGBTQ+ people, [27] [28] once telling an NME interviewer "I'm making music for the girls and the gays, and that's it." [29]

In May 2024, the BBC were forced to disable comments on a video on its Instagram page of CMAT's performance at the Radio 1 Big Weekend festival, following a spate of comments labelled "fat-shaming." [30] Later that month, CMAT pulled out of a performance at that summer's Latitude Festival due to the festival's sponsorship by Barclays, and the company's financial involvement in the Israel-Hamas war. [31]

Personal life

CMAT is bisexual and has been described as a "bisexual icon". [32] [33]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

AwardYearNominated WorkAwardResultRef.
Choice Music Prize 2022If My Wife New I'd Be DeadAlbum of the YearWon [34]
Choice Music Prize 2023Crazymad, For MeAlbum of the YearNominated [35]
Choice Music Prize 2023Stay For SomethingSong of the YearNominated [36]
Choice Music Prize 2023HerselfArtist of the YearNominated [37]
BBC Sound of... 2023HerselfSound of 2024Nominated [38]
Brit Awards 2024HerselfInternational Artist of the YearNominated [39]
Ivor Novello Award 2024Crazymad, For MeBest AlbumNominated [26]
Mercury Prize 2024Crazymad, For MeBest AlbumNominated [40]

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References

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