Sam Ryder has been announced as the UK entry for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, with his song “Space Man”.
The Essex-based singer-songwriter rose to early fame thanks to his clips of song covers posted to the social media platform TikTok, which received praise from singers including Justin Bieber, Sia and Alicia Keys.
He then released an original song, “Whirlwind”, which went viral on the platform, followed by an EP, The Sun’s Gonna Rise.
“Space Man” was released as a single last week.
The news was announced on BBC Radio 1 by presenter Greg James, who urged fans to “get behind” Ryder’s song.
“Let’s just see it as a fresh start,” he said. “I truly believe in him.”
The singer himself said he didn’t want the “stigma” of being put “at a certain place on a table” to put him off entering the contest.
Eurovision fans will be hoping that Ryder will receive at least a better reception than last year’s contestant, James Newman.
The singer-songwriter received a dismal “nul points” after performing his track “Embers” at the contest in Rotterdam last year.
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Turin after the 2021 competition was won by Italian rock band Maneskin.
Italy will be represented this year by previous contestant Mahmood, who will perform original song “Brividi” with fellow Italian artist BLANCO.
Mahmood came second in the 2019 contest with his track “Soldi”.
Russia will not participate in this year’s contest due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the annual event, said in a statement that the inclusion of a Russian entry would bring the contest into “disrepute”.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
