Few artists can boast receiving career advice from Charli XCX. And not many would ignore a personal message from her. Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, the Irish singer-songwriter, better known as CMAT, did both.
In 2018, when Thompson was in her early 20s, broke and working in a club as a “sexy shots girl”, she was invited to a focus-group style listening session hosted by Charli. Thompson gave the rave-pop artist critical feedback on several unreleased tracks. Charli, impressed by her attention to detail, told her to “figure it out” and make her own music.
This advice changed Thompson’s life. She has since released two albums, the second of which (Crazymad, for Me) scored her a Brit Award nomination this year. Thompson assumed Charli had forgotten about their encounter until recently, when she sent her a tongue-in-cheek DM asking for Sweat tour tickets.
“She had sent me an incredibly kind, encouraging message on Instagram about a year and a half ago, but I f—ing left her on read,” Thompson, now 28, says. “If I had replied then, she probably would have sent another message. But now she’s the most famous person in the world, and I left her on read.”
