Ryder also won a Marcel Bezençon Press Award, becoming the first UK act to win a Bezençon Award. On, the BBC aired a documentary titled Sam Ryder: Journey To Eurovision on BBC iPlayer and YouTube which detailed Ryder's journey to Eurovision. In an interview for Sky News, he spoke about the injury he had sustained in Madrid during his tour after crashing into a metal bar. Ryder toured Europe between March and May 2022 to promote his entry. On 10 March 2022, he was announced as the UK representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with "Space Man". In the same month, he accepted their offer to represent the country in the contest. Ryder wrote " Space Man" during the pandemic, and in January 2022, the song was sent to TaP Music and the BBC. In 2021, he released his debut EP, The Sun's Gonna Rise, which has received over 100 million global streams. He later signed a record contract with Parlophone. By the end of the same year, he became the most-followed UK artist on the platform. He caught the attention of musicians such as Sia, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and Elton John. Ryder rose to prominence through TikTok where, starting with the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, he began posting his music covers. 2020–present: TikTok and Eurovision Song Contest He spent some time busking, and performing at weddings and clubs all over the south-east of England before joining TikTok. In 2017, he opened a vegan juice bar in Essex with his long term partner Lois before shutting it down in 2019. He started to pursue a career as a solo artist and in 2016 recorded an album with producer Bryan Wilson in Nashville, Tennessee, although it was never released. įollowing his time working for other bands he spent some time working in construction for his father. Ryder released one studio album with them called Line in the Sand, and left in 2014. They split in 2013, and he began working as a frontman for the band Close Your Eyes. In 2012, he was announced as their new lead vocalist and contributed to their album Feel the Power. Following his time with the band in 2010, he toured as a guitarist for the band Blessed by a Broken Heart. At aged 19 he co-founded the band The Morning After, with whom he released two studio albums. Ryder made his debut as a singer and guitarist in the music industry in 2009.
In an interview for Capital in 2022, Ryder said that he previously once worked in construction with his dad in and helped build the Wembley Stadium.
He revealed that he was inspired to learn how to play the guitar after the Finnish rock band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
He has a sister who lives in Sydney, Australia. His first job was delivering papers for The Essex Chronicle as a child. His musical awakening occurred in his early teens when after a trip to a nunnery he discovered an album of British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Ryder is a big fan of Eurovision and has memories of watching the contest with his family while growing up in the Essex countryside. He was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing the Canadian rock band Sum 41 live in concert aged 11. He attended the St John Payne Catholic School in Chelmsford between 20. His mother worked as a dental assistant and his father Keith worked as a carpenter. Ryder was born on 25 June 1989 and was raised in Chelmsford, Essex. 2.2 2020–present: TikTok and Eurovision Song Contest.