In partnership with Bilbao BBK Live 2026.
Fresh from headlining the main stage earlier that night, Robbie Williams surprised both CMAT and the crowd by running on stage during her set on day two of Bilbao BBK Live 2026.
Nearing the end of her late night slot on the Repsol stage, the Dunboyne singer joked that “The A in CMAT stands for, ‘And through it all…’” she began, before leading the crowd in a singalong of Williams’ hit ‘Angels’. As she finished, Williams darted on stage to huge cheers, and hugged the singer who then informed people that, “I really know that it seemed like that was planned, but it really wasn’t.”
Elsewhere in the set, CMAT – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – referenced Olivia Rodrigo’s recent cover of her song ‘When A Good Man Cries’ on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, preceding the track by declaring, “Thank you Olivia Rodrigo, she’s my best friend!”
When Rodrigo covered the track, taken from CMAT’s critically-acclaimed third album ‘Euro-Country’, she praised the Irish artist as “such an incredible, unique songwriter,” before continuing: “I think nobody writes songs like her right now, and she’s just a force. Beautiful, beautiful voice, so I hope I did this song justice.”
Despite the success of viral hit ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, which speaks of the body shaming that the singer has experienced online since stepping further into the limelight, CMAT recently was forced to speak out about further online abuse following an appearance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2026 earlier this summer.
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Thompson said she had “felt compelled to wade in and speak for myself” after discovering some derogatory remarks about images of her from the event.
“It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body,” she wrote. “I would love to stop but I cannot because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous.”
Back in May, CMAT took home the Best Album award for ‘Euro-Country’ at the Ivors 2026. The record was also shortlisted for the 2025 Mercury Prize, and landed at Number Four on NME‘s best albums of the year list.
Bilbao BBK Live 2026 kicked off on Thursday (July 9) with powerful performances from the likes of FKA Twigs and David Byrne – read NME’s round-up of day one here.
Alongside CMAT and Williams, day two also featured sets from Tomora – the collaborative project between Aurora and Tom Rowlands of Chemical Brothers, Alabama Shakes and Belle and Sebastian. The festival will continue tonight (July 11) with closing sets from Lily Allen, IDLES and more.
