CMAT (musician)

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (born 23 February 1996), known professionally as CMAT (/ˈsiːmæt/, 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.

CMAT
CMAT performing in 2022
Background information
Birth name	Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson
Born	(1996-02-23) 23 February 1996 (age 29)
Origin	County Meath, Ireland
Genres	Folk pop country
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	2017 (2017)–present
Labels	CMATBaby AWAL
Website	cmatbaby.com

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 Gaza war.^[31]

Personal life

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

Discography

Studio albums

• If My Wife New I'd Be Dead (2022)
• Crazymad, for Me (2023)
• Euro-Country (2025)

Singles

• "Another Day (KFC)" (2020)
• "Rodney" (2020)
• "I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!" (2020)
• "Uncomfortable Christmas" (2020)
• "I Don't Really Care for You" (2021)
• "2 Wrecked 2 Care" (2021)
• "No More Virgos" (2021)
• "Lonely" (2022)
• "Every Bottle (Is My Boyfriend)" (2022)
• "Communion (Country Version)" (2022)
• Mayday (2023)
• "Whatever's Inconvenient" (2023)
• "Have Fun!" (2023)
• "Where Are Your Kids Tonight?" featuring John Grant (2023)
• "Stay for Something" (2023)
• "Aw, Shoot!" (2024)
• "Running/Planning" (2025)

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Nominated Work	Award	Result	Ref.
Choice Music Prize	2022	If My Wife New I'd Be Dead	Album of the Year	Won	[34]
Choice Music Prize	2023	Crazymad, For Me	Album of the Year	Nominated	[35]
Choice Music Prize	2023	Stay For Something	Song of the Year	Nominated	[36]
Choice Music Prize	2023	Herself	Artist of the Year	Nominated	[37]
BBC Sound of...	2023	Herself	Sound of 2024	Nominated	[38]
Brit Awards	2024	Herself	International Artist of the Year	Nominated	[39]
Ivor Novello Award	2024	Crazymad, For Me	Best Album	Nominated	[26]
Mercury Prize	2024	Crazymad, For Me	Best Album	Nominated	[40]