Death of the Genre | Bambie Thug the ‘Ouija Popstar’
June 21 | Written By Jess Wilkinson
In the past, musicians were largely expected to pick a genre and stick to it. But in recent years, this idea is becoming obsolete. This generation of artists are experimenting with blending genres more than ever, and there is no better person to demonstrate this phenomenon than Bambie Thug, Ireland’s 2024 submission to Eurovision.
Bambie Thug, also known as Bambie Ray Robinson, is a 31-year-old musician from County Cork. Identifying as non-binary, Thug uses they/them pronouns. They were initially trained as a ballerina, which shines through in the gentler portions of the “Doomsday Blue” choreography. At the beginning of their career, they reported being forced towards “bubblegum pop” by a talent agency. They swiftly ditched the latter, and found a team of people who “really believed” in Thug’s vision.
The “ouija popstar” placed 6th in this year’s Eurovision, but their impact has eclipsed their omission from the leaderboard. They are the first Irish entry to qualify for the grand final in six years, and with good reason. Ireland has submitted a number of fairly safe ballads in the past few years, but Bambie Thug stormed into the competition with sizzling originality, a Frankenstein’s monster of genres and incredible staging that entirely transcended expectations.
The notion of artists being confined to a single genre is arguably an antiquated one in our modern age. Taylor Swift made the risky switch from country to pop, and while she was met with acclaim, many critics were shocked that she would stray from her chosen genre. NPR writer Leah Donella called Swift “disorientating” in the way she jumps between genres, abandoning country entirely and borrowing from hip-hop in her pop songs. While Donella’s article is very nuanced and does not insult Swift and her music in any way, this criticism demonstrates how a musician’s genre can be considered to be binding by some.
Further, when Arctic Monkeys released their jazzy concept album “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino” in 2018, many fans were disappointed that the new project didn’t sound like their previous music. Gone was the Brit-pop flavour from “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” and “Favourite Worst Nightmare” that people were so familiar with, and it was jarring to some. But “Tranquility Base” has gathered a cult following in the years since its release, demonstrating that genre-switching can be a worthwhile risk, after the initial shock of the change.
Comparisons were drawn between Arctic Monkey’s drastic change in sound and David Bowie’s career trajectory. Not only do many of the songs on “Tranquility Base” emulate Bowie’s vocals (most notably in “Four Out of Five”), the genre-switch the band made mirrors the way Bowie himself jumped from genre to genre: from glam rock to electronic to pop etc..
What if Bowie had stuck to the same sound for the entirety of his career? We would not have iconic pop songs like “Let’s Dance,” or anything from his 2016 album “Blackstar.” The same goes for other artists that switch genres; even though it is at the risk of distressing fans of their previous sound, sticking to the same type of music for years on end is likely to end in stagnation and boredom on both the fans’ and artists’ part.
Bambie Thug shows no signs of potential stagnation, nor do they care about being “disorientating,” even in front of the millions of people watching Eurovision. Combining genres including metal, folk, jazz and spoken word poetry, “Doomsday Blue” stands out among the other countries’ entries in its lack of concern about fitting the mould.
The staging of the song only intensified its motley blend of inspirations. It switches between a satanic ritual, a dreamy ballet and a nightmarish rave throughout its three minute run, making it one of the more memorable performances of the night.
Bambie Thug’s song “Tsunami” goes even further than “Doomsday Blue” in terms of blending genres: hyperpop, metal, rap, EDM—you name it. They also have made gentler songs, including the tender “Love Bites,” and their lamenting cover of “Zombie” by The Cranberries. In the self-described “goth gremlin”’s own words: "I was kind of sick of: 'What's your genre?’ My genre is: I'm a songwriter, I'm a lyricist, I'm a performer."” The diversity of Thug’s discography makes it clear that their music is more of a free-flowing organism than just a career. Thug’s music is a vessel for expressing their views, thoughts and experiences as a young queer person with mental health issues and dysmorphia, calling their music a less expensive alternative to therapy. Thus, their music morphs and evolves along with them, and as a result, there are no two songs that sound the same.
All in all, the expectation to stick to one genre is slowly fading away, giving artists more freedom to experiment and truly enjoy their music. Bambie Thug’s genre-defying song “Doomsday Blue” reached millions of people through Eurovision, and their success as a result has proved that the genre is very much dying out. The ultimate message in their music is this: “Agency, liberation, self-love, infatuation, mystery, medication, melody and good vibrations.” In short, Bambie Thug is on a mission to free the world from boundaries in every shape and form, and through their music, they are going to make it happen.