[Image by Collin Knopp-Schwyn, wikimedia]
While performing a new song at Wide Awake Festival this past weekend, CMAT took a moment to address commenters.
“BBC had to turn off all the comments because everyone was calling me a big fat ugly bitch!” She said, before performing “Take A Sexy Picture Of Me”.
Previously, in an interview with Radio 6, she revealed that the song itself was inspired as a criticism of people that felt the need to comment on her appearance.
This comes after a successful 2024, when CMATs music was exposed to a wider array of people, not all of whom were fans.
“I started doing festivals and TV appearances”
“So many people were being so horrible about my physical appearance in the replies.”
“It’s because I fall outside of the very small box that commercial attractiveness can fit.”
Having thick skin and being able to ignore online criticism is perhaps an essential trait for an emerging artist to have. But CMAT has had enough.
“I wasn’t too bothered by this, I was happy to just kind of be like, those people are crazy.”
“But what i realised was it was affecting other people around me so much.”
“I have so many fans that are 15 year old girls.”
“Me accepting this type of behaviour – I’m setting a really bad example for them.”
“And then I was angry because i have no control over that – so i wrote this song.”
The song also calls out that discourse around physical attractiveness is dominated by the male-gaze specifically. In one section that has been popular online goes:
I did the butcher, I did the baker
I did the home and the family maker
I did school girl fantasies
Oh, I did leg things and hand stuff
And single woman banter
Now tell me, what was in it for me?
Take A Sexy Picture of Me is the lead single on CMAT’s upcoming album EURO-COUNTRY. Set to release August 29th.
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