Eurovision 2022: Meet TikTok star Sam Ryder, the UK entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest

The singer-songwriter will perform the track Space Man at the grand final in Turin, Italy, in May.

Ryder found fame covering songs on TikTok during lockdown and has so far accumulated 12 million followers, making him the most followed UK music artist on the platform, according to the BBC.

Ryder said: “Having been a fan of Eurovision since I was a kid, 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!”

The singer co-wrote the song Space Man with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge, who has previously worked with Ed Sheeran, and Max Wolfgang.

When the world went into lockdown in March 2020, Ryder began uploading covers to TikTok which caught the attention of global stars including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys.

He later signed to the Parlophone record label, part of Warner Music Group, and released his debut EP The Sun’s Gonna Rise in 2021.

The 2021 Eurovision competition was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the show was cancelled in 2020, and won by Italy’s rock band Maneskin with their song Zitti E Buoni.

The UK was handed a crushing defeat as its entry, singer James Newman, was the only one to score zero points from both the jury and public vote, coming bottom on the leaderboard.

Asked if he was concerned by the fact the UK has scored so poorly in recent years, with last year’s entry James Newman gaining zero points, he told ITV’s This Morning: “I get what you’re saying and believe me, it’s something I considered so much before saying yes to this opportunity.

“But for all of that, I love it so much. I’ve been watching it since I was a kid and my enthusiasm is just so much greater than my fear, because I love singing and singing is about connecting with people.

The competition’s producers have also recently announced that Russia will no longer participate in this year’s contest following the invasion of Ukraine.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement that the inclusion of a Russian entry at the contest in Turin in May would bring the contest into “disrepute”.

The Eurovision grand final will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds on 14 May from 8pm.

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