Bambie Thug has said they are "beyond grateful" to be representing Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, and promised they would deliver a "show-stopping" performance.
The 30-year-old Cork native was chosen to represent Ireland with their genre-shifting track Doomsday Blue on Friday night's Late Late Eurosong Special.
The non-binary artist appeared on The Ray D'Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday where they said the experience has been "very overwhelming", adding: "It hasn't sunk in yet."
"I was about to say it broke my heart, but it didn't, it filled my heart," Bambie told Ray. "I really wasn't expecting the country to get behind me so much. It still l makes me quite emotional actually."
Speaking about the support on the night, Bambie said: "There were banners and everything! It was crazy. I definitely was having a bit of a dissociative moment, an out-of-body experience for the whole thing, to be honest.
"But it was there was just so much love in the room. There was so much support. I felt so held and, it was beautiful. I'm so grateful."
The Macroom-born star described their celebrations following the show.
"We went to the green room for a little bit but I was very overwhelmed," they shared. "Then we went and surprised the fan club at the Odeon and I did a little impromptu performance.
"And then we actually just went home and ordered some pizza and drank some tea. Gone are my wild days now, honestly!"
The artist said they have been doing "a lot more meditation than I usually have been" following their win "because I just need to keep myself grounded".
They said of the online reaction to their win: "I've seen a lot, both good and bad, but there's an overwhelming amount of love. As a queer person, we get hate.
"All I can say is, I send all those people love, who are so enraged by my art. I hope that you're ok, guys."
Bambie added of the opportunity to represent Ireland at the Eurovision in Malmö, Sweden this May: "I'm so beyond grateful, Ireland, to all of you for allowing me to have a chance on that big platform.
"I want to elevate it so much. I want to make something that even Eurovision hasn’t really seen. We are really going to deliver something show-stopping."
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 semi-finals will take place on 7 and 9 May, with the grand final following on 11 May.
