Sam Ryder Robinson (born 25 June 1989) is an English singer, songwriter, producer, composer and social media personality. He rose to prominence in 2020, after posting music covers on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, during the first UK lockdown of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and signed to

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

before parting ways with them in 2023. His

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

has since incorporated various genres including

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, pop,

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, and

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

, while his

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

, and use of

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

and

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

, has garnered critical acclaim. Ryder's breakthrough came after he represented the in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

with "

Space Man "Space Man" is a song by British singer-songwriter Sam Ryder, released as a single on 22 February 2022 through Parlophone Records. It represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, after being internally se ...

". He became the highest scoring UK entrant with 466 points, won the jury vote and came in second place in the contest. He became the first British act to win a Marcel Bezençon Award, and scored the UK its best result since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and its first top three result since

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the highest-charting UK Eurovision entry since 1996. His participation has been credited for helping to change how the British public and press view the contest. It was followed by the release of his debut album '' There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' (2022), which debuted atop of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. In 2023, he was nominated for

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

at the Brit Awards, becoming the first Eurovision act to be nominated in this category. As part of his career, he has released a string of singles including the Emmy nominated song " Fought & Lost," featuring

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

, "

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

" and " You're Christmas to Me" which also peaked at number two in the UK. His other accolades include five TikTok awards, a Big Top 40 award, and a Hollywood Music in Media Award. He has been nominated for a Los 40 Music Award, Global Award,

Edinburgh International Television Festival The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in Edinburgh, Scotland, each August that brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry. The Festi ...

and a MTV Video Music Award.

Early life

Sam Ryder Robinson was born on 25 June 1989 in

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, the youngest child of Keith Robinson, a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

, and his wife, Geraldine (), a dental assistant from Hackney, London. He has two sisters. Ryder was raised in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, Essex and attended the local St John Payne Catholic School. His first job was delivering papers for ''The Essex Chronicle'' as a child. Ryder was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing the Canadian rock band

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

in concert when he was 11. Ryder is a "big fan" of Eurovision and cites Finnish rock band

Lordi Lordi () is a Finnish Rock music, rock band. Formed in 1992 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume maker Mr Lordi (Tomi Petteri Putaansuu), Lordi are known for wearing monster masks and using horror elements with pyrotechnics during c ...

as being the inspiration for him learning how to play guitar, after the rock band won the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcas ...

Career

2006–2019: Beginnings

Ryder made his debut as a singer and guitarist at age 16 when he co-founded the band The Morning After, with whom he released two studio albums; You Can't Hurt Steel (2009) and Legacy (2011). Both albums were released under independent label Rising Records. During the "Legacy" era, manager Josh Keating (aka JK Mizu) challenged Rising Records founder Mark Daghorn over the band's lack of royalty payments. Shortly after, Daghorn abrubtly closed Rising Records and fled to Barbados leaving The Morning After and many other bands in the dark. Following The Morning After split he joined as a guitarist and new lead vocalist for the Canadian Rock band

Blessed by a Broken Heart Blessed by a Broken Heart is a Canadian rock music, rock band from Montreal, Quebec. They released three albums, the last of which, ''Feel the Power'', was released by Tooth & Nail Records and made the ''Billboard'' Christian Albums and Top Hea ...

and contributed to their album '' Feel the Power.'' He parted ways with the band in 2013, and auditioned to become the new lead vocalist for the American Rock band Close Your Eyes, and contributed to their album '' Line in the Sand'' and left in 2014. After his departure from Close Your Eyes, Ryder returned to Britain and spent time working in construction with his father, including helping to build the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. In 2016, Ryder recorded an album with producer Bryan Wilson in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, although it was never released. He later opened up a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

café with his partner in

Coggeshall Coggeshall ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in Essex, England, between Braintree and Colchester on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. In 2001 it had a population of 3,919. It has almost 300 li ...

, England, before its closure in 2019. He was a wedding singer in the south-east of England until the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–2022: TikTok and Eurovision

Ryder rose to prominence through TikTok where, starting with the first lockdown during the

in March 2020, he began posting his music covers. He caught the attention of musicians such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, Sia,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. By the end of the same year, he was named the most- followed UK artist on the platform. He later signed a record contract with

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

. In 2021, he released his debut EP, ''The Sun's Gonna Rise'', which has accumulated over 100 million global streams. It was followed up with a sold-out tour. Ryder wrote "

" during the pandemic, and in January 2022, the song was sent to TaP Music and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. In the same month, he accepted their offer to represent the country in the contest. On 10 March 2022, he was announced as the for the

with "Space Man". Ryder toured Europe between March and May 2022 to promote his entry. In an interview for

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

, he spoke about the injury he had sustained in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

during his tour after crashing into a metal bar. On 12 May 2022, the BBC aired a documentary on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

and YouTube which detailed Ryder's journey to Eurovision. At the Eurovision final in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy, he finished in second place with 466 points, becoming the highest-scoring UK Eurovision entrant. He won the jury vote and scored the UK its best result since 1998 and its first top three since 2002. Ryder also won a Marcel Bezençon Press Award, becoming the first UK act to win a Bezençon Award. After the contest, "Space Man" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the highest-charting UK Eurovision entry since Gina G's " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" in 1996. In June 2022, Ryder performed "Space Man" at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert, Platinum Party at the Palace. In July 2022, he performed the British national anthem at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. On 19 August, he released his follow-up single, "Somebody", which reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for the song, released the same day, was shot in Šimanovci on the set of Serbian reality show '' Zadruga''. On 2 September 2022, Ryder released "Living Without You", a collaboration with

Sigala Bruce Fielder (born 1 November 1992), known professionally as Sigala, is an English DJ and record producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single "Easy Love (Sigala song), Easy ...

and

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

. On 3 September, he performed

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's " Somebody to Love" along with Queen members

and Roger Taylor, at a tribute concert for

Taylor Hawkins Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was the drummer and a vocalist of the rock band Foo Fighters, sharing vocals with Dave Grohl. He joined the band in 1997, and remained the band's drummer ...

at London's

. On 26 September 2022, he performed a headline show at Lafayette in London for National Album Day, in partnership with the charity War Child. Between October and November 2022, Ryder embarked on his first European tour which spanned 19 dates, beginning in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany on 12 October and concluding in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom on 24 November. He is scheduled to embark on his UK and Ireland tour spanning 14 dates, beginning 17 March 2023 in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and concluding on 5 April 2023 in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. On 13 October 2022, Ryder opened the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and begun in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted o ...

. "All the Way Over" was released on 4 November 2022, as the next single from his forthcoming debut album.

2022–2024: ''There's Nothing but Space, Man!''

On 9 December 2022, his debut studio album '' There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' was released. The album debuted atop of the

, making Ryder the first British male solo artist to debut at number one with their first record in over three years, and the first solo artist to debut at number one with their first full-length release since

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

's ''

Sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

'' (2021). In the same month, Ryder also performed at the Royal Variety Show. On 22 November, Ryder announced a special New Year's Eve show, which aired on BBC One and iPlayer, titled ''Sam Ryder Rocks New Year's Eve,'' on 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023. He was joined by guest musicians, including

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974), commonly known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. W ...

, Sigrid and

Justin Hawkins Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician, Internet personality, singer, and songwriter best known as the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness, of which his younger brother Dan is also a member. He is ...

. In January 2023, Ryder was nominated for

at the 2023 Brit Awards, becoming the first Eurovision act to be nominated in this category. In the same month he voiced the character of Brian in '' Messy Goes to OKIDO'', a British television series aired on

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

. In February 2023, Ryder performed a cover version of " I'm Good (Blue)" alongside Guetta at the

Brit Awards 2023 Brit Awards 2023, the 43rd edition of the ceremony, presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), was held on 11 February 2023 to recognise the best in British and international music. The ceremony took place at The O2 Arena in London and ...

. In March 2023, he released a cover version of "

You Got the Love "You Got the Love" is a song by British songwriting team the Source featuring American singer-songwriter Candi Staton. Originally released in 1986, the song was remixed and re-released in 1991, 1997, and 2006. It has reached number three on the ...

" in partnership with

Matalan Matalan Retail Ltd is a British clothing and homewares retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside, founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. In August 1988, its operations director at the time, Duncan Sullivan, transformed Matalan into an out-of-town wa ...

for its spring brand campaign. In the same month, Ryder's jumpsuit that he wore during his Eurovision performance in 2022 was displayed in Liverpool, ahead of the city hosting the 2023 contest in May. He was also nominated for the Rising Star award at the

2023 Global Awards The 2023 Global Awards ceremony were held on 31 March 2023 live on-air through the Global Media & Entertainment#Radio stations, Global radio stations Capital (radio network), Capital FM, Capital XTRA, Heart (radio network), Heart FM, Radio X (Unite ...

. In April, Ryder in his first brand collaboration on a TV advert was featured in a TV and social campaign with

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

. He was announced as the company's new ambassador. On 12 May 2023, Ryder released his new single "

" for a global brand campaign with Ottobock, and performed it at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with some of their disabled performers who joined him on stage. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. On 24 May 2023, he released a collaboration with

, called "Fought & Lost" for the drama series ''Ted Lasso''. He performed the song with Hannah Waddingham (who was also one of the presenters of the 2023 Eurovision contest) at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. In July, was nominated for his first Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In August, Ryder was announced as a nominee for the MTV Video Music Awards. His song 'All the Way Over' was nominated for Push Performance of the Year category. In September, he had parted ways with his record label of 3 years, Parlophone, following the completion of his one-album deal. In November, Ryder won a Hollywood Music in Media Award for his song "Fought & Lost." That same month he released a brand new single called " You're Christmas to Me" for the Your Christmas or Mine 2 soundtrack and it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.

2024–present: Second studio album and independent artist

In January 2024, Ryder announced that he had begun work on his upcoming second studio album. He also released a new single in collaboration with Korean actor and singer Kim Min-seok (actor), Kim Min-seok called "Back in Love". The song topped the Korean chart, Melon Music. In January 2025, Ryder was nominated for his second consecutive Brit Awards, Brit Award for his song " You're Christmas to Me". On 21 March 2025 he released his new single "White Lies". On his new music, Ryder stated, "I’ve never felt so sure of who I am as artist and I’m so proud of this new music, I can’t wait for you all to hear it”. He played "White Lies" live for the first time at an intimate show at London’s George Tavern earlier this month to a crowd of 150 people, also debuting a number of other tracks at the show, with a major release expected later in 2025. In June 2025, he is scheduled to play the Field of Avalon stage at Glastonbury Festival On June 24th, Ryder released his new EP titled "''OH OK",'' after his move to Nashville to record his new album.

Personal life

Ryder started making music at age 13 and has spent most of his adult life touring, writing, and performing for other bands and once resided in Hawaii. In 2018, he was involved in a surfing accident, which pushed him to put more effort into his music career. He is a

and once owned a vegan café in

, England. He likes to surf the Coastline of the United Kingdom, coast of Great Britain in his free time, meditate, travel, snowboard, drive around race tracks and skate. Ryder is in a long-term relationship with his partner Lois Gaskin-Barber. He cites David Bowie,

, Freddie Mercury, and

among his music influences. Ryder believes in extraterrestrial life, aliens, and once wanted to pursue a career as an astronaut and claims to have seen a UFO while in Hawaii as a child.

Discography

* '' There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' (2022)

Filmography

Awards and achievements

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryder, Sam 1989 births Living people 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male singers English male singers English TikTokers People from Maldon, Essex Musicians from Essex Parlophone artists Metalcore singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants