CMAT

CMAT is the stage name of Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, an Irish singer-songwriter known for blending country, pop and rock into a distinctive, emotionally direct sound often laced with sharp wit and dark humour. Her songwriting pairs confessional, sometimes brutally honest lyrics about heartbreak, family and self-image with big, hook-driven melodies, drawing on the storytelling traditions of country music while staying firmly rooted in contemporary pop production.

She released her debut album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, in 2022, establishing her as one of the more distinctive new voices to emerge from Ireland’s pop scene. Its follow-up, Crazymad, For Me (2023), expanded her ambitions further and earned a nomination for the Ivor Novello Award, cementing her reputation as a songwriter capable of turning deeply personal material into widely resonant pop songs. Tracks such as «EURO-COUNTRY», «When A Good Man Cries» and «I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!» showcase her knack for pairing catchy, theatrical arrangements with lyrics that swing between vulnerability and biting comedy.

CMAT has built a reputation not only for her music but for a distinctive stage persona — flamboyant, funny and unapologetically herself — that has made her a standout figure in the current wave of Irish and UK pop-adjacent singer-songwriters, with songs like «Take a Sexy Picture of Me» and «The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station» highlighting her flair for turning everyday absurdity into memorable pop storytelling.