Ireland’s Eurovision entry reaches one million streams on Bambie Thug’s 31st birthday

Bambie Thug will perform the song in the first Eurovision semi-final on May 7, in Malmo, Sweden.

The singer, who turned 31 today marked the one million stream milestone reflecting on the year they have had.

“Happy Birthday to me! What a year - hitting 1 million streams on Doomsday Blue is the best gift I could ask for and winning the Pride of Cork Award last week is the cherry on top,” Bambie Thug said.

The official music video for the song is also set to be released on Friday.

“Super grateful and so excited to share the music video with everyone this week!” they said in a statement.

Bambie Thug, a non-binary performer who also goes by Cuntry Ray Robinson, was born in Macroom in March 1993 to a Swedish father and Irish mother.

In the lead up to the Eurovision contest, much attention has been on Israel’s participation in the competition, with the song October Rain, widely believed to be a reference to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Earlier this week it was reported that Israel’s public broadcaster requested changes to the song, which has not yet been released to the public.

There have also been calls for RTÉ to boycott the event, with the state broadcaster receiving 1,448 emails to that effect. Bambie Thug previously said they believe Israel should not participate.

The performer has been open about being sexually assaulted by someone they “called a friend” and posted on social media about how that has impacted their life.

"2023 was an amazing year career wise but it was also one of the hardest years I’ve had,” Bambie Thug said on X earlier this year.

"I’ve had complex PTSD and numerous SA [sexual assaults] and childhood trauma but this year it was all reawakened in May when I was raped by someone I called a friend,” they said.

"It happened three weeks before my debut Download Festival performance, the biggest moment in my career so far and honestly it stole the experience from me. I was completely dissociated, masking and don’t remember a second of the show.

"But I got news that my eight month wait for therapy is around the 12 week mark away and my case has been passed onto the next officer before it can go to CPS [Crown Prosecution Service], which is such a relief!

"I know it’s still so far away but it is closer and for that I am so grateful,” they said.