Who is Bambie Thug, Ireland’s Eurovision hope?

Ireland have made it to the finals of Eurovision for the first time since Ryan O’Shaughnessy in 2018. But who is Bambie Thug who carries the weight of Ireland’s expectation when they take to the stage in Malmö, Sweden?

The 31-year-old performer from Cork, belted out their song ‘Doomsday Blue‘ at the semi-finals on Tuesday May 7 and won a place in the final as well as praise from viewers on social media.

Born Bambie Ray Robinson, Bambie Thug, is an Irish recording and songwriting artist known for mixing numerous genres in music, coining their own term, ‘ouija-pop’, out of a reluctance “to be put in a box”.

Media attention

After their Eurosong 2024 victory, Bambie Thug attracted media attention, especially from the local Irish media. The song, along with Bambie personally, has been criticised by far-right Irish personalities. Hermann Kelly, chairman of the far-right Irish Freedom Party, tweeted scathing comments about Bambie, stating: “Bambie Thug seems to celebrate Satanism and ‘non-binary’ awakening nonsense”.

Bambie has spoken on numerous occasions about being part of the LGBTQ+ community and being LGBTQ+ in the music industry. In an interview with Gay Times, Bambie stated: “I like being part of an up-and-coming queer scene. I didn’t have that growing up, so it’s important to have people you can identify with and to have music that speaks to you and allows you to have more freedom to be yourself”.