The worst kept secret is out as the BBC have announced that Sam Ryder will represent the UK at Eurovision 2022 with his song “SPACE MAN”.
The reveal took place on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show when lifelong Eurovision fan and DJ Scott Mills joined regular host Greg James to announce the song. Scott Mills even gave a small tease for the staging saying “It’s nothing like we’ve seen before”.
"SPACE MAN" lyrics:
If I was an astronaut
I’d be floating in mid-air
And a broken heart would just belong
To someone else down there
I would be the centre
Of my lonely universe
But I’m only human
And I’m crashing down to earth
I’m up in space, man
Up in space, man
I’ve searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
There’s nothing but space, man
And I wanna go home
If I was an astronaut
I’d speak to satellites
My navigation systems
Would search for other life
But I’d be up here thinking
‘Bout what I left behind
‘Cause I’m only human
With the real world on my mind
I’m up in space, man
Up in space, man
I’ve searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
There’s nothing but space, man
And I wanna go home
Gravity keeps pulling me down
As long as you’re on the ground I’ll stick around
Stick around
I’ll stick around
I’m up in space, man
Up in space, man
Nothing but, nothing but, nothing but space, man
Nothing but, nothing but, nothing but space, man
I’ve searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
Nothing but space, man
And I wanna go home
Who is Sam Ryder?
Sam Ryder is a 31 year old singer from Essex in England. Before becoming a solo artist, Sam was a part of multiple bands between 2009-2019, performing as a backing vocalist, guitarist and lead singer.
In 2020, Sam started to post covers on TikTok of songs from artists like Adele, Bruno Mars and Rihanna. The response to his videos was massive, so much so that TikTok awarded Sam Ryder’s account the most popular UK artist account of 2020. At the time of writing, Sam has 12 million followers on the site, receiving 96.9 million likes and 231.5 million views.
In April 2021, Sam released his debut solo single “Tiny Riot”, the lyric video for the song has been seen over 750 thousand times on YouTube.
United Kingdom at Eurovision
Despite what recent results suggest, the UK is one of the most successful countries in Eurovision history. They have won the contest 5 times (1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997) and been runners up a record 15 times. Their last victory came in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves and their song “Love Shine a Light”.
However, since the turn of the millennium the UK’s fortunes in the contest have drastically changed. Since 2000, they have managed to come in the top 10 twice, with the last time being in 2009 with Jade Ewen and her song “It’s My Time”.
In the same time frame, the UK have come last in the final 5 times, with the last 2 times coming in the last 2 years. Last year’s result was especially embarrassing, as James Newman and his song “Embers” received 0 points. This was the second time the UK had received nul point in the contest and the first time a country had achieved this ‘honour’ since the new voting system came into play in 2016.
While this unfortunate event means Sam Ryder literally can’t do worse, he will be hoping to change the UK’s fortunes around in Turin.
What do you think of the UK’s entry? Do you think they will avoid coming last for the 3rd straight year? Let us know in the comments below!