Cork's Cian Ducrot reflects on 'years and years of work' to become 'overnight success'

Cork singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot has reflected on his career to date, his songwriting and his favourite gigs, saying he loves returning home to play on Cork soil.

Sitting down with The Echo ahead of his Virgin Media Park gig on Friday, the star said he was excited to be back in “the best city in the world”.

Raised in Cork, Ducrot studied music in London before moving back to Ireland to pursue his dream.

He rose to fame with his singles ‘All For You’ and ‘I’ll Be Waiting’, both of which gained popularity via TikTok and charted highly in Ireland following their release in 2022.

His debut studio album ‘Victory’ was released on August 4, 2023, and reached number 1 in Ireland.

Speaking to The Echo about how he carved out his career, he said: “It’s years and years of work. It takes 20 years to become an overnight success, as the saying goes, but since I was a kid I have been learning music and practicing for hours and hours each day and studying music. 

"I’ve spent years playing gigs in pubs, busking on the street, writing songs, learning how to use social media and promoting myself on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram - trying everything I could and I never stopped and I never gave up.

“With a lot of time, eventually the songs got better, the singing got better, the videos got better, my marketing and understanding of social media improved and eventually there was a point where it all came together and just started to work and connect.” 

He said a special moment that stands out for him was his main stage debut at Electric Picnic where he said for the first time he saw his success “in real life in front of my own eyes” and realised that his career was taking off.

Sharing his advice to other young artists working to make it in the industry, he reminded people that setbacks are normal and advised them to "allow it to give you a fire instead of putting you down".

“Everyone’s journey is different, even though it might be the same place you get to, so just do everything you can and should be doing and keep going and don’t stop and it will pay off.” 

Speaking about his nail art and how it has become part of his look, he said he used to get his nails done with his girlfriend for fun and has continued to say yes to having them painted.

“I always end up having them painted because I always say yes to it and it’s become part of the look now,” he said.