CMAT has revealed that she had no intention of joining forces with Jamie Oliver for a music video, and joked that she only pitched the idea as a way of avoiding more work.
The Irish singer-songwriter caught up with us on the red carpet at the 2026 Ivor Novellos last week (Thursday May 21), where she nabbed the trophy for Best Album thanks to her critically acclaimed third record, ‘EURO-COUNTRY’.
That moment marked her first Ivor Novello win, having previously being nominated in 2024 with her sophomore record ‘Crazymad, For Me’. It was also her first award in the UK, having previously been nominated multiple times at the BRITs and the Mercury Prize.
Speaking to NME backstage, CMAT told us about her gratitude to “win something in England for the first time ever”, and quipped that she was “robbed” of a deserved trophy every other time she was nominated.
She added that she was especially proud of the win as she was aware of “how difficult it actually is, because of how much you’re up against”, and said that she “just assumed I was losing to Lily Allen” and her album ‘West End Girl‘.
The ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’ singer then spoke about her time working with Jamie Oliver on the music video for her tongue-in-cheek track ‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’.
That track featured on ‘EURO-COUNTRY’ and featured lyrics that playfully quip at a hatred towards the world-famous chef. In the music video, the two came together and CMAT delivered a ’60s-influenced performance, while Oliver was seen taking a step away from a busy kitchen and sitting behind a drum kit.
Speaking about how the collaboration came together, CMAT revealed that she had no intention of enlisting Oliver, and instead pitched the idea as a lighthearted way to get out of making a music video for the song.
“When the time came around [to do the visuals], I said I would only do the music video if Jamie Oliver would be in it,” she recalled. “Basically, I didn’t want to make a video because I was being lazy and I’d been doing too many shows… And then my label said, ‘We have him’, and I was like, ‘Fuck’.”
“But then he was so nice,” she added. “He was so sound, and he worked really hard. He studied the track to get the drums right and stuff. He’s an angel. I love him.”
Taking to the stage to accept her award at the Ivors, CMAT delivered an impassioned, politically-charged speech that saw her call out fascism and take aim at Nigel Farage and “anybody who decides to make life more difficult for people who are just trying to live”.
She touched upon how her record is “about the very complicated relationship” she had with Ireland, and explain that she believes songwriting should “reflect the times through your own personal view, so that everybody can have something to connect to and something to learn from”.
CMAT went on to call former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern a “c***” and “really fucking racist” while on stage, before wrapping things up by addressing UK politics saying: “Fuck Reform, fuck Nigel Farage. I have no time, sympathy or empathy for anybody that decides to make life more difficult for people who are just trying to live.”
NME gave ‘Euro-Country’ a glowing, five-star review, praising it for its “courage and the consistency to land high on the fast-approaching end-of-year lists, and to make CMAT the icon she’s been giving all this time.”
Since it was released last year, CMAT has been playing some of her “biggest shows ever”, turned heads by bringing Harry Hill on stage in London, and this summer she will make appearances at festivals including TRNSMT, Mad Cool and Bilbao BBK Live.
Other artists who took home awards at this year’s Ivor Novellos included Sam Fender who got Songwriter Of The Year, Fraser T Smith and Kae Tempest who nabbed Best Contemporary Song, and Jacob Alon who secured trophies for both Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Rising Star.
Rosalía was crowned International Songwriter Of The Year, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke was handed the Academy Fellowship award by surprise guest Harry Styles, and George Michael posthumously received the Academy Fellowship, too.
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