CMAT extends long-term global deal with AWAL
08 December 2025 - Press releaseBRIT Award-nominated and 2x Mercury Prize-shortlisted Irish superstar CMAT has signed another long-term deal with label partner AWAL. After the widely successful release of her album EURO-COUNTRY, which debuted #1 on the Irish charts (her third #1 Irish album with AWAL) and #2 on the Official UK Album Charts, CMAT will continue her partnership with the global record company.
CMAT sings/says: “The smile on AWAL’s face lets me know that they need me, there’s a truth in their heart that says they’ll never leave me, and the touch of AWAL’s hand says they’ll catch me whenever I fall…yes, I am very happy indeed to be continuing this wonderful relationship with AWAL!”
Barry O’Donoghue (that’s how it is management) adds: “After a whirlwind three albums in just over three years, and a very memorable 2025, we are excited and indeed delighted to extend our arrangement with the top tier team at AWAL.”
Lonny Olinick (AWAL CEO) notes, “CMAT is one of those artists that you know matters from the moment you meet her. We have been so fortunate to have a front row seat to her masterful artistry over these last three albums and know the world stage is set for her. Our entire team is beyond excited to continue partnering with CMAT and Barry on these next incredible chapters.”
Will Hunt (AWAL, VP of A&R) says: “CMAT is a generational talent and hilarious personality, we’re overjoyed that she has trusted us with the next chapter of her career. We have and have always had huge belief in her and are so excited to see what she creates in this next era.”
Matt Riley (AWAL, President) furthers: “CMAT is a unique and world class artist and it’s been immensely rewarding for everyone at AWAL to be a part of the emergence of a superstar.”
CMAT’s multiple 5*-reviewed album, EURO-COUNTRY, is an aural tight-rope walk that balances big themes—re-evaluating where you come from; the impact of economics on a small country; the pressure of increased fame—with her most immediate songs to date. It follows a huge summer for the Irish star: from a “career making” Glastonbury Pyramid set (to an estimated crowd of 80k), and the rise of her viral smash hit, “Take A Sexy Picture Of Me” (which now has nearly 33 million streams to date).
Despite this being her third album, this fully-formed acronymic star feels like she’s been part of the cultural zeitgeist forever. EURO-COUNTRY follows 2023’s brilliant Crazymad, For Me—an album that propelled her to wider attention and garnered numerous accolades: including a BRITs Best International Artist nod; and Best Album nominations from the Ivors; Mercury Prize and the Choice Music Prize in her native Ireland (an award she won for her debut, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead).
In the UK, press, radio and television have all been integral in her rise, with numerous covers, five-star reviews, playlists, Maida Vale sessions and TV appearances, including ”Jools Holland” (both “Later…” and a memorable turn on his “Hootenanny”) and “The Graham Norton Show.”
Moreover, stateside, Rolling Stone, who spoke to CMAT about her new album earlier this summer, stated, “Like other world-weary pop chroniclers of modern life (particularly Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker), CMAT’s music draws people in, whether because of its undeniable hookiness or her candy-striped voice, before they realize the depth of her (mostly correct) commentary on the world’s ills.” Interview Magazine dubbed her an “Irish-born country-pop disruptor.” Stereogum praised CMAT’s “When A Good Man Cries,” as “an immediately gripping country-rock classic that recalls Stevie Nicks or Tom Petty,” adding, “even when grappling with personal demons, CMAT takes us on a vital jaunt,” while The Associated Press furthered, “In the hypercompetitive musical climate of 2025, it is hard to stand apart from the crowd. But on Euro-Country, CMAT has furthered her individual vision and style. Now it’s up to the rest of the world to get on board.” She also recently made her late-night television debut on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
A relentless touring schedule with The Very Sexy CMAT Band has cemented her reputation as one of the best live acts around—alongside Glastonbury, 2025 highlights include Green Man, Primavera, Pukkelpop, NOS Alive and a run supporting Sam Fender in the UK. Her 2025 UK and Ireland headline run—including her first arena show in Dublin—sold out instantly. She has confirmed further U.S. touring this spring including support dates for Florence and the Machine.
What has endeared fans to her heart-sore tunes and humour is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s ability to combine contradictory themes and moods: wide-eye drama with self-deprecation; the fusion of country and pop, with even more influences stretching across decades and genres.
EURO-COUNTRY marks another step in the unstoppable rise of CMAT and cements her position as a generational songwriter.
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