Irish singer CMAT hypes intimate London crowd ahead of Brit Awards

Brit Award nominee CMAT has hyped a crowd in London with a string of her hit songs ahead of the prize ceremony this weekend.

The 28-year-old Irish singer-songwriter treated the intimate audience at Bush Hall to tracks from across her discography including I Don’t Really Care For You and Stay For Something on Friday evening.

The show was part of this year’s Brits Week concert line-up, which raises funds for the charity War Child who support children whose lives have been affected by war.

Her lively performance comes on the eve of the Brit Awards, where she is nominated for international artist of the year alongside female music titans including Taylor Swift, SZA and Miley Cyrus.

Donning a black bodysuit and a sparkly waistcoat with tassel trim, she kicked off the show with a rendition of California, from her second studio album Crazymad, For Me, released in October.

Alongside her band, she energised the crowd throughout by headbanging and encouraging them to chant the lyrics back at her.

After performing her song Whatever’s Inconvenient, a fan passed her a gift of butter and another a bag of chocolate snacks.

She joked with the crowd that her fellow Brit nominees had been gifted luxurious gifts this week like clothes and flowers while she had received “multiple packages of foods that are very high in fat content”.

The Irish star later brought emotion to the night with a rendition of Where Are Your Kids Tonight? before thanking the crowd for coming to the event which she said means “so much” to her due to it being in support of War Child.

She encouraged the crowd to donate to the charity as she voiced her support for the cause.

After the audience chanted for an encore, she closed out with fan favourites I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby! and Stay For Something, ending the last song on a high note by crowd surfing.

The Dublin-born singer, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, has been making waves in Ireland for a number of years.

After being advised in 2018 to reimagine her approach by pop star Charli XCX, she broke up with her boyfriend, quit her job and returned to Dublin after living in Manchester where she performed with her ex as a duo.

Finding herself as a solo artist was not an easy ride, but it paid off as her 2022 debut studio album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, and its follow up in October 2023, Crazymad, both went to number one in Ireland.

Dabbling between country, indie rock and alt-pop, her sound feels both modern and classic.

But it is her combination of camp songwriting with an emotional core which offers a refreshing spin.

The singer gained further attention after she performed her new single Stay For Something on The Graham Norton show in November.

She continued her streak of success when she was longlisted for BBC’s Sound Of 2024 alongside fellow rising stars including The Last Dinner Party and Olivia Dean.

Last month it was announced she was among the nominees for the Brit Awards’ international artist of the year prize.

The Brit Awards, hosted by Maya Jama, Clara Amfo and Roman Kemp, are taking place at London’s O2 arena on Saturday.