Olivia Rodrigo has covered CMAT‘s ‘When A Good Man Cries’ for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge – watch below.
The pop star played a two-song set on the station yesterday (Tuesday June 2) to promote her third album ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’, which is released next Friday (June 12).
- Read More: Olivia Rodrigo live at Glastonbury 2025: A Robert Smith-assisted ending to stand the test of time
She delivered a live rendition of her latest single ‘The Cure’, before taking on CMAT’s 2025 track ‘When A Good Man Cries’ from her acclaimed third record, ‘Euro-Country’.
Speaking about her choice of cover, Rodrigo said she “really, really love[s]” the Irish singer-songwriter, who she “discovered a few months ago”.
“I just think she’s such an incredible, unique songwriter,” she continued. “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.
“I’ve actually never met her – so CMAT, if you’re out there, I hope you like the cover.”
Following the performance, Rodrigo said she had “so much fun” taking on the track. “I think that song is epic,” she went on, calling it “twangy and country”-sounding.
“The lyrics are super awesome and unique,” the singer added. “I didn’t know what ‘Kyrie Eleison’ was before that. It’s like a phrase, like ‘God be with you’ or something […] I had to do some research.”
Responding to the cover, CMAT posted a clip of herself listening to the session. “Is she gonna say ‘Dunboyne’,” she said, referring to her name-checking her town in County Meath, Ireland, in the song.
She excitedly added: “She said ‘Dunboyne’! She said ‘Dunboyne’! Oh my God, she said ‘Dunboyne’! I don’t know why that’s fucking killed me.” In the caption, CMAT wrote: “She sang it better than me so now I’m toast. @oliviarodrigo pints?”
Rodrigo replied: “I LITERALLY LOVE U SM [so much].”
Commenting on Radio 1’s Instagram clip, CMAT said: “She sounds so amazing wow.”
Watch Rodrigo perform ‘When A Good Man Cries’ and ‘The Cure’ above, and listen back to the full session via BBC Sounds.
Last month, 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.
In other news, Rodrigo has revealed the full tracklist for ‘You Seem Pretty Sad…’, which follows on from 2023’s ‘Guts’. She has described the record as “experimental” and full of “sad love songs”, saying it is centred around the feelings of “jealousy” and “longing” that arose from her first “big girl relationship”.
Rodrigo has since responded to the controversy around her new babydoll dress look for this era. The pop star announced her massive ‘Unraveled Tour’ recently, with support acts such as Wolf Alice and The Last Dinner Party.
Dates include multiple stops at The O2 in London, where more shows have been added due to huge demand. Visit here for UK tickets and here for international tickets.
CMAT, meanwhile, has shared her “deep sadness” over being subjected to body-shaming abuse online, following a performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2026.
Speaking to NME at the Ivors, CMAT said she had no intention of joining forces with Jamie Oliver for her latest music video, joking that she only pitched the idea as a way of avoiding more work.
“And then my label said, ‘We have him’, and I was like, ‘Fuck’,” she told us.
“But then he was so nice. 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.”
