An Aussie doctor turned pop singer’s viral protest song has become a chart topper despite the controversial lyrics seeing her rejected by a record label and manager. 

Iyah May, whose given name is Marguerite Clark, saw her mesmerising tune Karmageddon climb to the number two in the Australian iTunes downloads chart last week and to number 16 worldwide this week. 

In the song, which has a YouTube clip thumbnail of May holding up a middle finger, the hard-hitting lyrics claim Covid was a ‘man-made’ money maker for ‘big pharma’ and calls out the World Health Organisation.

However, the lyric that reportedly led to May’s split with her manager is a reference to Israel‘s conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah as ‘genocide’, which the singer refused to rewrite.

The song also accuses politicians of ‘being bribed for life’, the news of ‘spreading lies’ and calls out online tribalism, cancel culture and celebrity worship as adding to ‘chaos of the times’, which proved too controversial for her previous record label.

However, May labels Karmageddon as ‘a song of hope’ calling it an ‘anthem for the people who felt unseen, silenced, censored, disheartened and hopeless over the last few years’.

‘At first I thought dropping this song would bring me a lot of hate and backlash, and although there has been some controversy including the loss of my music manager, there has been an overwhelming amount of support from people all over the world,’ she wrote on Instagram in November.

‘To me this shows that so many of us have felt unseen, excluded, confused and disheartened during the last few years. I hear you, I see you and you’re not alone.’

The song has attracted admiration from some controversial political figures.

Ryan Fournier, a US right wing activist and chair of Students for Trump who was arrested in November 2023 for allegedly pistol whipping his then girlfriend, tweeted his appreciation late last year.

‘Meet Iyah May,’ Fournier wrote. 

‘She is an Australian-based singer who just lost a contract with her management company because she refused to change these lyrics. It’s amazing!’

Despite having no expensive marketing push the song has become a viral sensation, with it popularity bringing it to the attention of US publication Newsweek in December.

May tweeted on Thursday that Karmaggedon was trending on YouTube at number 30.  

‘I can’t believe it,’ she wrote.

‘So many beautiful heartfelt comments I’m actually shocked. 

‘I don’t always get to reply to everyone but know that I see you and see your support and am so happy to be with you, singing about real issues. 

‘If this song is resonating with so many people it shows that so many of us are tired of the absolute chaos we’ve been dragged through in the last few years. We deserve to be heard.’

May continues to campaign on social media to get Karmageddon to number one on Australian iTunes.

‘Against all odds this song is charting around the world, thanks to you guys for sharing and supporting it,’ she tweeted.

‘The world might be a damn mess right now, but in unity we have strength. In truth we heal.’  

May, who got her first break performing after a chance meeting with rapper Shaggy while studying medicine in New York, has posted Instagram photos of her in full medical scrubs and protective gear from previous medical career. 

‘So I’ve gone back to working as a doctor fulltime in emergency while we get through Covid which means I have less time to work on my music and share stuff with you guys so that does make me sad, but I’m grateful I can offer something else in another way,’ she wrote on one Instagram post.

May was born in the far north Queensland city of Cairns and has largely lived in Brisbane but is now based in Sydney, according to her website.