UNITED KINGDOM – Following an extensive search headed by TaP Music, the BBC has announced that singer-songwriter Sam Ryder will represent the United Kingdom at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘SPACE MAN.’

The news was exclusively revealed by Scott Mills on Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James with SPACE MAN having previously featured as ‘Tune of the Week’ on Scott Mills’ Afternoon Show on BBC Radio 1.

🇬🇧 Rumours are confirmed: Sam Ryder to Turin. What do you think of "SPACE MAN"? #oikotimes #spaceman #uk #new #song #video #bbc #SamRyderUKEurovision #video #soundofbeauty #bbc

— OIKOTIMES (@theoikotimes) March 10, 2022

Sam shared his excitement with Eurovision.tv: ‘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 United Kingdom 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!’

Sam co-wrote his entry with Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud) and Max Wolfgang, and with over 12 million followers and 100 million likes on TikTok, he is currently the most followed UK music artist on the platform.

As the world went into lockdown in March 2020, Sam uploaded the first of his now-famous covers onto the popular social media platform and his extraordinary vocals quickly caught the attention of celebrity fans including Justin Bieber, Sia and Alicia Keys, who even posted her own video reacting to Sam’s cover of her song If I Ain’t Got You.

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ABOUT SAM

Sam Ryder is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Essex who has worked in the music industry since 2009. He’s spent the majority of his adult life touring the world and performing live with bands including The Morning After, Blessed By A Broken Heart and Close Your Eyes, but well and truly hit the big time in 2020 after deciding to post covers on TikTok.

In less than a year, Sam has amassed a whopping 7.2 million followers on the app after his covers of the likes of Adele, The Weeknd, Rihanna and Bruno Mars went viral. The response to his videos was so huge that TikTok crowned his account the most popular UK artist account of 2020. That’s seriously impressive.

What did Alicia Keys say about Sam Ryder?
Sam’s TikTok videos caught the eye of actual A-lister Alicia Keys who shared a clip of her reacting to his cover of her classic hit If I Ain’t Got You. Alicia looks shocked as Sam sings the song and says, “Yo, he killed this. This is hard for me to sing.” She even joins in at one point.

What did Sia say about Sam Ryder?
Alicia Keys isn’t Sam’s only celeb fan. He also caught the attention of Justin Bieber with his cover of Sia’s song Chandelier. Biebs texted the video to his friend Eddie Benjamin, who’s been in quarantine with the Aussie singer and she shared it on Instagram. Actual goals.
She wrote, “We all think you’re amazing! Well done dude! I love you, keep going.”

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