TikTok sensation Sam Ryder has been announced as the musician who will represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
Today (March 10) the BBC has confirmed that singer-songwriter Sam Ryder will be representing the UK at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest, which is set to be held Turin, Italy in May 2022.
The UK haven't got the best track record when it comes to Eurovision, and the last time we made Top Ten in a final was in 2009 with the song It's My Time by Jade Ewen.
In 2021, James Newman represented the UK with his entry Embers, which ended up receiving "nil points" – but could the UK's bad track record be about to change?
Scott Mills announced the news on Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James earlier today and then revealed that the singer will be singing the song SPACE MAN.
The track he will sing at the coveted event was previously featured as Tune of the Week on Scott Mills’ Afternoon Show on BBC Radio 1.
Sam has more than 12million followers on TikTok, with a whopping combined 100m likes across his videos – not only this, but our new Eurovision representative is currently the most followed UK music artist on the social media platform.
He shot to TikTok fame when he started uploading covers at the start of lockdown in March 2020 – and two years on he will now be representing the UK in the global competition.
In 2021 he released his debut EP which has garnered more than 100m global streams with singles Whirlwind and Tiny Riot topping the worldwide iTunes charts.
Sam Ryder co-wrote SPACE MAN with Grammy winning songwriter Amy Wadge, who worked on Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud, and Max Wolfgang who has worked on tracks with James Arthur and Years & Years.
Speaking about the exciting news, he 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!”
Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC says: “Sam is a remarkable performer, with a vocal ability that is literally out of this world. His terrific talent coupled with the spine tingling SPACE MAN ensures a UK entry we can all get behind and be very proud of.”
Eurovision is set to take place later this year in May, and will air on the BBC as always.
Presenting legend Graham Norton is set to head up the show once again, which will no doubt delight keen viewers.
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