Ireland's entry for the Eurovision has caught plenty of attention since the competition got underway.
Bambie Thug became the first Irish Eurovision Song Contest finalist since 2018 following a vote for their performance of Doomsday Blue in Malmo, Sweden. They triumphed with the witchy and mesmerising execution of their chanty alternative song at the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Now, the singer will now perform alongside 25 other countries this evening, Saturday. But, who is Bambie Thug?
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So who is Bambie Thug?
The Cork-born singer, whose real name is Bambie Ray Robinson, was born in 1993 and grew up in Macroom, Co Cork. Bambie’s mother is Irish and their father is Swedish.
The 31-year-old non-binary artist moved to London on a scholarship for dance as they were training to become a ballerina, reports Cork Beo. However, they broke their arm during college, which led Bambie to study musical theatre instead.
Their mother, who Bambie describes as “my biggest champion” stayed at home with them while their father crafted metal parts and “didn’t have a note in his head”.
Bambie said they always wanted the spotlight while growing up in Macroom.
“Growing up in a small place, the furthest I would go was to say I was different. I definitely wanted the spotlight. I wanted to assert myself, but the closest I got was wearing brown clothes with pink tights.
“I don’t think it was until I moved away, and I came out that I really took agency over myself. I moved to London when I was twenty and that’s when I really felt I became myself. But learning to stand strong within yourself in the face of everyone else is a constant learning.” his year my resolution was to back myself completely and be my own strongest cheerleader.
“This creative world is amazing but, at the same time, it’s also tough. You have to have thick skin.”
Bambie has used the term "ouija-pop" to describe their music. In a 2023 interview, they stated "My stuff is hyperpunk avant electro-pop. We call it grit pop or rot but recently I've been coining the term 'Ouija pop'".
They stated that they coined the term due to a reluctance to be "put in a box", instead combining numerous genres, with Bambie "never having anything in mind" whenever making music. One of their major influences musically is a reluctance to be stuck to a style or genre; in an interview with NME, Bambie claimed that they could do "everything" creatively, stating their belief that the heavy metal music community had expanded to include more genres and be more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community.
However, they also stated that the heavy metal community was "under attack", with Robinson considering themselves a "rebel". Bambie has stated an emphasis on trying to be "good role models" with music, stating a belief that many within the industry "glamourise" drug addiction.
They stated in an interview with Gay Times: "We need to parade healthy behaviour. It's important if we are going to be breaking [through] so that younger kids and teens listening to our music, and looking up to us, aren't fed this negative behaviour."
Bambie’s debut song Birthday premiered in 2021, shortly followed by their first EP Psilocyber including three singles. They had a big hit with Tsunami in 2022 and have reached more than 700,000 listeners.
Since then, they released another 2 EPs: High Romancy in 2021 and Cathexis in 2023.
The self-described “Nightcore Barbie” could be seen performing at the packed-out Download Festival in June 2023, and The Great Escape in Brighton in May 2023. They also performed live at BBC Maida Vale Studios on Christmas Eve in 2022.
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