Irish singer-songwriter CMAT, born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, has become one of pop music's most distinctive voices, known for her sharp wit, country-inflected melodies, and unfiltered opinions on everything from trans rights to capitalism. The 29-year-old, who rose to fame during lockdown with her debut album If My Wife New I'd Be Dead, now finds herself opening for Sam Fender in stadiums and earning Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello nominations for her second album Crazymad, for Me.
Thompson's journey to stardom began in Manchester, where she worked at TK Maxx and as a "sexy shots girl" in a nightclub, selling Jägermeister shots for £3 each. After a painful breakup and feeling "completely alone", she wrote the song I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby! in 20 minutes, which she credits as the turning point in her career. "I thought: 'I know what I need to do now,'" she recalls.
Despite her success, Thompson is candid about the toll it takes on her mental health. She describes living in a "heightened state of emotion" and admits to experiencing auditory hallucinations and visual hallucinations while making her third album. "I'm crazy and I do crazy things, and I have crazy relationships with people," she says, clarifying that she means "mental" in the sense of being unwell, not wild.
Known for her forthrightness, Thompson is a vocal advocate for trans rights and criticises the wellness industry's "rise-and-grind ethic" for making people "insane". However, her bluntness sometimes gets her into trouble with her mother, who scolded her after a podcast appearance where she repeatedly used strong language. "She told me it made her cringe," Thompson laughs.
Despite the challenges, Thompson remains unapologetically herself, describing her rise as surprisingly easy: "Whenever someone's like, 'Oh, is it really difficult?' I'm just like 'This is class, no issue at all.'"
