TikTok star Sam Ryder has been selected as the UK’s act for this year’s Eurovision.
Ryder, who has over 12 million followers and 100 million likes on TikTok, will be flying the flag for the UK at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘SPACE MAN’. This year’s event will be held in Turin, Italy in May.
Hopefully – just hopefully – Ryder will be able increase the UK’s standing in the competition after we came last place last year with James Newman’s performance of ‘Embers’.
Ryder is currently the most followed UK artist on TikTok, so fingers crossed his popularity on the platform will stand him in good stead – provided, of course, such clout on socials translates into votes from the public of other countries.
As the world went into lockdown in March 2020, Sam uploaded the first of his covers onto the platform and his vocals quickly caught the attention of celebrity fans including Justin Bieber, Sia and Alicia Keys. Keys even posted her own video reacting to Sam’s cover of her song ‘If I Ain’t Got You’, epitomising how Ryder was able to grow his digital following.
In response to these videos, Ryder has since signed to Parlophone (part of Warner Music Group), a renowned music company. His debut EP was released in 2021 and has so far amassed over 100 million global streams with singles ‘Whirlwind’ and ‘Tiny Riot’ topping the worldwide iTunes charts. Sam has also just completed his first sold-out UK tour.
In response to the announcement, which was exclusively revealed by Scott Mills on Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James earlier today, Ryder said: “Having been a fan of Eurovision since I was a kid l I am so honoured to have been presented with the opportunity to sing at an event alongside some of Europe’s most talented creatives, performers and songwriters.
“I hope to sing my head off in a way the UK can be proud of, and to showcase a song I wrote with my friends last summer makes the whole experience even more special. See you in Turin legends!”
See you there, Sam. Let’s hope it all goes better than last year.
