Clonee-Dunboyne pop star shortlisted for the 2024 Brit Awards
Hannah McNamara
Clonee-Dunboyne country pop star Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (CMAT) has been nominated for her first ever Brit Awards.
Reacting to the news CMAT said: "Am I… the least famous person to ever be nominated for a BRIT in its entire history? I think that I am."
She added: "As such, no matter what happens I will still feel a huge sense of accomplishment."
The 27 year old will battle it out with Asake, Burna Boy, Caroline Polachek, CMAT, Kylie Minogue, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA and Taylor Swift this March after being shortlisted for international artist of the year.
CMAT who moved to Clonee and then to Dunboyne from Dublin as a youngster said: "I cannot believe that any of this is happening. Everything would make a lot more sense if I suddenly woke up from a coma and some lovely nurse told me, 'No sweetie, you are not nominated for a BRIT Award and everyone is still alive. Now be careful with that jelly all of your teeth were crushed on impact.'"
Some other previous winners of the award include Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Billie Eilish. CMAT joked: "Looking at this list it is very obvious that the category is in dire need of some Former-Regional-Debenhams-Store-Worker representation, so am feeling quietly confident about my being a shoe-in."
CMAT has been making waves in the music world recently and has been hailed as the one to watch from various industry publications. 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. Last year, CMAT released her second album CrazyMad, For Me, and performed one of the singles on the Graham Norton Show.
Across the 2024 Brit Awards' 13 categories, 77 artists or acts were nominated - with 38 being female artists or all-women groups.
This year, five genre categories - spanning alternative rock, grime and more - will be decided by the public.