Meet Cork's rising star Chubby Cat: 'I don’t feel like I have to pretend to be anything else'

Chubby Cat: “At a showcase, I feel like everything has to be perfect.” Pic: Sarah Ellis

Cork native Chubby Cat — the name conceived by electro-pop singer Cat Doran through a random name generator — is kicking back after finishing her first round of shows in a blazing-hot summer schedule of festival appearances. 

Briefly returning home after a week of playing three shows via London and Berlin, Cat is only beginning her reign.

Lauded as a 2FM Rising Artist for 2024, Cat crafts music with vigour, catchy yet emotive. 

She gives little away in her lyrics and relies on tone and sound to create an immersive experience that makes you feel like the only place you should be when listening is on a dance-floor.

“It’s like buying a horse in a market,” Cat opens when we meet via Zoom. 

She is recalling the weekend just past at The Great Escape festival in Brighton, which marries musicians and industry professionals, showcasing the hottest up-and-comers on the scene. Artist showcase events pose a unique dynamic — the pressure of which might feel more like a Tuesday morning PowerPoint presentation than a time to let loose and perform.

“It was really cool to play in different venues and I met loads of people, but I have so much more fun when I play a normal gig,” she continues. “At a showcase, I feel like everything has to be perfect.”

The strive for perfection does not only exist in the land of music showcases for modern-day artists. With the rise of TikTok populism, there is a pressure to become a social media star as well as a musician.

“I struggle a lot with the likes of TikTok,” Cat says, the pain of online falsity evident in her expression. “I can’t bring myself to pretend to care about social media, but as an artist, you have to juggle what to post and at what time, think about the hashtags and organise promotional posts.”

Despite the demand on artists to capitulate to the age of virality, hearing a chorus fifty times on TikTok before the song is released does little more than create short-lived one-hit — or one-verse — wonders.

Cat’s love for music began early. The Cork native grew up listening to a soundtrack of Cat Stevens, Nina Simone, The Beautiful South and The Housemartins. 

Chubby Cat: "I can’t bring myself to pretend to care about social media" Pic: Ben Murray

Influenced by her mother’s music taste and love for musical theatre, Cat spent a childhood immersed in creativity — attending plays in The Abbey, The Gate and The Bord Gáis, embracing the culture of every place her family visited. 

Her introduction to singing was a happy accident. She trained with Mary Hegarty at the Cork School of Music.

“My friend accidentally signed me up for singing lessons instead of the choir when I wasn’t there,” she laughs, “so I kind of fell into it.”

Each city with its unique brand of odd patriotism, Cat has made her home in Cork, Dublin and Belfast. Every move exposes a new version of her. 

Cork gave her passion. Dublin gave her skill. Her new home, Belfast, is giving her the freedom to be herself.

“I spent my time learning the craft of songwriting in Dublin. The style of music is a lot different in Belfast, so my style changed with it,” muses Cat. “Dublin is oversaturated with a lot of pop and R&B.”

On the contrary, Belfast is a very small community where people like to do their own thing. “I feel like I belong up here more than I did in Dublin”.

The move to Belfast ignited a creative connection with Matt Weir, producer to fellow Irish artists Robert Grace and Ryan Mack. His very being brought a sense of comfort and belonging out in the singer that had yet to grace her career.

“When we started working together I felt like he understood exactly what I was trying to do without me even fully knowing what I was trying to do,” Cat says. “I don’t feel like I have to pretend to be anything else.”

Chubby Cat: “I don’t see being a queer artist as being anything different than just being an artist.” Pic: Ben Murray

Rocking tooth gems, piercings and a shaved head, the Cork native offers a style that is uniquely her own. But while her flair for fashion and accessorising suggests an outward showcase of her identity, she says singing is how she expresses herself. 

And her latest single ‘QUIET’ is anything but its namesake. It is a big sound — opening with a gaspy scream.

“How lucky would I be just to be alone with you?” rings the chorus. “An invitation overstayed / A conversation overplayed.”

Lyrically juxtaposed with the triumphant electro-pop soundscape, through its words, the track looks for respite through connection, quieting the overwhelm. But the music itself is the escape.

In a search for authenticity comes a desire for normalcy. In this case, the normalcy of queerness in the music industry. Cat is often lauded as a gay artist but didn’t intend to come out as such.

“I wish it didn’t have to be used as a marketing tool,” she starts, before reflecting; “I don’t see being a queer artist as being anything different than just being an artist.” But, she says, she is glad to represent other gay artists, adding “it can be a very straight white man dominant scene”.

Reminiscing on the most beautiful moment of her career to date, Other Voices stands out as a shining star. Thinking back to packed rooms of adoring fans, pints in hand and lyrics memorised, Cat smiles as she says, “It’s a feeling like nothing else when you have a room completely crammed full of people to see you.”

• Chubby Cat’s new single ‘QUIET’ is out now. She plays Forbidden Fruit in June.