Bambie Thug: 'I really wasn't expecting the country to get behind me so much'
Bambie Thug winning the Late Late Eurosong Special. Picture: Andres Poveda
"There were banners and everything," laughs Macroom native Bambie Thug, describing their experience winning the national leg of the Eurovision journey at the weekend.
The Cork artist, who will now represent Ireland at the Eurovision song contest in Sweden in May told the Ray D'Arcy show on RTE Radio 1 that standing on the stage after winning the public vote to represent their country was a moment they'll never forget.
"It was crazy. I definitely was having a bit of a dissociative moment, an out-of-body experience for the whole thing, to be honest. But it was there was just so much love in the room. There was so much support. I had my mom and my sister and my two best friends from when I did university here, before going to London. I felt so held and, it was beautiful. I'm so grateful"
The 30-year-old admitted that they were surprised how emotional they got on the night because of the support. "I was about to say broke my heart, but it didn't, it filled my heart. I really wasn't expecting the country to get behind me so much. It still l makes me quite emotional actually."
Bambie Thug, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them, was crowned champion on the last Friday night with their genre-transcending song 'Doomsday Blue'.
Afterwards, Bambie was keen to thank their fans. "We went to the green room for a little bit but I was very overwhelmed. And then you had to go into the dressing room. Then we went and surprised the fan club at the Odeon where I did a little impromptu performance. And then we actually just went home and ordered some pizza and drank some tea."
Then the singer returned to Cork to continue the celebrations. "Gone are my wild days now honestly," they laugh.
"I just went for dinner with Sophie, my makeup artist, and then I met my sister at The Raven because she was with her friends, and then we went home again and we saw me on the news. It's crazy. Everything is so surreal. I've jumped so many followers as well on iTunes in the space of 48 hours. I've been doing a lot more meditation than I usually have been. Because I just need to keep myself grounded."
But they are also keen to point out how they hope to go the whole way at the contest in May. "I’m so beyond grateful, Ireland to all of you for allowing me to have the chance on this platform. You have no idea how much. But now I want to elevate it. I want to make something that even Eurovision hasn’t seen. I want to bring in my musical theatre. I have a group chat about it on my WhatsApp and.. we have so many ideas. We are really going to deliver something showstopping.”
Earlier Ireland’s newly selected Eurovision entrant issued a statement to those “enraged by my beautiful art” after seeing hateful messages online. Bambie urged the public to “remember I am a human too”.
“I have gone through so much trauma and still show up with love after every obstacle and hard time,” they said. “I have always been a phoenix and your words and warped views cannot hurt me.”
They said they send “the most love” to those who hate them and criticised naysayers' anger.
“If my expression of art moves you to hate and anger then you are who I send the most love to. If you don't want to be part of the Haus Of Thug you are not obligated to come on this journey with me,” they said.
Bambie Thug grew up in Macroom Co. Cork with their three sisters. Their mother, who Thug describes as “my biggest champion” stayed at home with them while their father, originally from Sweden, crafted metal parts and “didn’t have a note in his head”.
Did they find it easy to express their individuality back then?
“In ways, yes. 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,” they smile.
“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,” Thug admits. “This creative world is amazing but, at the same time, it’s also tough. You have to have a thick skin.”
Bambie's song 'Doomsday Blue' has an edge to it that we don't often see from Irish Eurovision entries. Some critics describe it as 'electro-rap' while other fans prefer 'goth pop'.
“It’s hard to define my music,” Bambie explains. “But that’s what I love about it. I want to transport listeners through all aspects of my artistry. I am still discovering through music. When I was younger, my mother would wake us up with classical music. Then there would be rock playing in the car, rap in the afternoons at home. Music was thrown at me from all angles, and I absorbed all of it which is why I appreciate all types of music.
"When I was younger, I was obsessed with pop girlies like Britney Spears. I also loved Westlife. In fact, my first five concerts were Westlife, but my creativity stems from a combination of so many things; anything fantastical, animation, movies, even my witchcraft is a big part of it. I’m greedy, you see. I want to do it all, perform it all, create as much as I can.”
