United Kingdom in Eurovision
The United Kingdom made its Eurovision debut at the second ever Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. They have competed every year since, with the exception of 1958 following a failure to obtain an agreement from various artistic unions at the BBC.
The UK is one of only two countries to have had Eurovision victories in four different decades, an impressive record they share with Sweden. Throughout Eurovision history they have enjoyed great success, and endured spectacular loss, finishing in the Top 10 on no less than 41 occasions as well as finishing in last place five times.
The United Kingdom has only competed in a semi-final once (1996) where Gina G came in third place with 'Ooh Ahh Just a Little Bit'. Since the introduction of the 'Big Four' and subsequent 'Big Five' the United Kingdom has not been required to participate in any further semi-finals.
2022 Entry: Sam Ryder 'Spaceman'
As part of the 'Big Five' the United Kingdom automatically qualifies for the Grand Final. They are able to vote in the second semi-final.
My Eurovision Scoreboard fan ranking: 13th
Odds to win ranking: 4th
(Rankings as of 30 March 2022)
About the artist
Sam Ryder is a singer songwriter from Essex who started his music career in 2009, working as a session player for the groups 'The Morning After', 'Blessed by a Broken Heart' and 'Close Your Eyes'. He rose to prominence in 2020 during the lockdowns, when he started posting covers of artists such as The Weeknd, Rihanna and Bruno Mars to TikTok.
His impressive covers went viral and by the end of 2020 Sam Ryder had become the most followed UK artist on the platform. He has since signed a record contract with label Parlophone and currently has 12.1 million followers and 98.4 million likes on TikTok.
Propelling off from his success on TikTok, Sam released his debut EP, 'The Sun's Gonna Rise', in 2021 which easily surpassed 100 million global streams, helping make his most recent tour a complete sell out success.
How Sam Ryder was chosen for Eurovision
Sam Ryder caught the eye of the BBC with his sensational profile on TikTok and was selected to compete for the UK in a collaboration between the BBC and global music management company TaP Music.
About the song
Sam co-wrote 'Spaceman' with his friend Amy Wadge (an established songwriter who collaborated with Ed Sheeran to write 'Thinking Out Loud') as well as Max Wolfgang, who has worked with artists such as BTS and Eurovision legend Celine Dion.
'Spaceman' was first featured as 'Tune of the Week' on Scott Mills' Afternoon Show on BBC Radio 1. Subsequently the news Sam would be representing the UK was exclusively revealed by Scott Mills on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James.
In 'Spaceman' Sam describes his thoughts and emotions as if he were an astronaut, floating dreamily over Earth. The song takes us on a journey of acceptance and longing, although not a longing to explore the vacuum of space, but rather a more raw and honest longing simply for the people around us. The image of a lonely astronaut pining for what they have left behind tells a universal love story really quit beautifully.
Sam is ready and excited to share 'Spaceman' on the Eurovision stage. In an interview with Eurovision.tv he 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.”
'Spaceman' has already enjoyed great success reaching No.1 in the UK charts and has amassed over two million Spotify streams to date. Sam is going from strength to strength, with one sell out tour behind him he already has a second European tour scheduled, with tickets available here.
Our interview with Sam Ryder
Aussievision review and rank podcast episode
Apple
Spotify
And available anywhere else you get your podcasts.
The United Kingdom will compete in the Grand Final on May 14 (European time) in Turin.