The star of TikTok, Sam Ryder confirmed that he will represent the United Kingdom in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Ryder will compete with his song «Space Man».
«I have been a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest since I was a child, I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to sing at an event alongside some of Europe's most talented creators, performers and songwriters,» said Ryder.
Sam Ryder expressed his hope to sing well and make the UK proud, pointing out that he wrote the song with friends last summer and that makes the whole experience even more special. «See you in Turin legends!» he said.
Ryder rose to fame when he began posting videos of karaoke cover songs and songs from his home at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown in March 2020. By the end of the year, he became the artist with the most popular TikTok account.
With 7.7 million followers and many celebrity fans, including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keyes, Ryder recently performed songs at the NME Home Sessions.
In 2021 it was announced that TaP Music - the global music publishing and management company behind Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey - will work with the BBC to select a song and artist to represent the UK in the Song Contest.
TaP Music co-founder Ben Moson said: «The search took many months and presented us with many dilemmas and difficult decisions about the direction we should take for our representation. We had incredible interest from across the music industry, from unknown talent to well-known artists with number 1 albums, however we settled on Sam because of his combination of excellent vocal skills and a great song with so many classic British music influences.’.
