The first time it happens, it feels like a supernatural phenomenon, the second time is an undeniable mark of someone's talent and artistry.

Such is the intensity of a performer like CMAT, who continually raises the bar for pop music, in her live shows and in the studio. At her packed Electric Arena slot on Saturday, she cements herself as Ireland's rightful queen of pop.

The Dunboyne singer, Ciara Mary Alice Thompson, emerges onstage in a billow of white smoke, clad in a black leopard-print one-piece and knee-high boots.

CMAT at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy.

From there, she breaks into ‘California', a tour de force from her sophomore album Crazymad, For Me. It feels colossal in scope – and at the centre of it all is Thompson’s roaring, elastic voice that has been likened to the country music foremothers before her (be it Cline to Parton), but truly brooks no comparison. She is a sight to behold – and a rare treat to hear live. Her Electric Arena set may very well be her best performance yet.

A stand-out of the night was 'Have Fun!', the spirited country-pop anthem that boasts a frisky, feel-good revelry soaking up the sunshine and making the best of life’s unpredictable mess; showcasing CMAT's incomparable lyricism: "Oh, what are we like? / You cracked an egg into my mouth, had me over to your house / Fucked your friends and fucked me out / Oh, what am I like? / I waited time and time again, always pecking like a hen / That isn't fed, that isn't fed".

CMAT at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy.

Among Thompson’s many gifts as a singer and songwriter, her greatest may be the ability to translate the personal into universal experience, which translates marvellously in her beguiling live theatrics.

She performed all the hits: 'Aw, Shoot!', her now famed 'Wuthering Heights' cover, 'I Don't Really Care For You' and the 'Dunboyne Co. Meath two-step' intro to 'I Wanna Be a Cowboy Baby!'

Before she closes the show, Thompson expresses her gratitude for the crowd packed in like sardines, but not before bursting into ‘Stay For Something,’ an insouciant, rip-roaring highlight to set the venue ablaze in one final sonic blessing.