When in 2020 he decided to record a video in which he sang for fun Baby One More Time by Britney Spears from her mother’s kitchen, Sam Ryder he had no idea either that he would come second in the Eurovision Song Contest or that the BBC would call him to perform in front of Queen Elizabeth on June 4, on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee for his seventy years of reign. “It’s an incredible time and, in some ways, I still don’t understand it. After Eurovision I immediately felt full of energy and desire to do things », says Sam from the other end of Zoom’s lit screen. His hair is long and very blond like the ones he showed off in Turin at the final of the Contest while his charisma is the same as the 12 million followers who follow him on TikTok have learned to love.
In less than a year and a half Sam Ryder has, in fact, become the most followed British music artist on the platform, attracting the attention of celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Sia and Alicia Keys, who even posted the video of her reaction to the cover of If I Ain’t Got You sung by him. From there the success swept him all together: first the contract with Parlophone, then his debut EP The Sun’s Gonna Rise and, finally, the worldwide success of Space Manthe song that allowed him to conquer the second place on the official British chart, behind only As it was by Harry Styles. Despite the Bulgarian numbers and a global success capable of incredibly agreeing both audiences and critics, this 33-year-old boy from Essex still has his feet anchored to the ground. He answers questions with fun and aplomb, says he’s excited to be up for the first time Vanity Fair and that the future that awaits him could be full as well as empty, the important thing is that there is well-being and serenity.
Preliminary question: when did you not cut your hair?
“For a long time now. When I was little and I went to school, my mother used to make me very short curtain hair, like Dracula: I think I experienced such a great trauma that it led me to have very long hair in order not to go back to that hairstyle ».
Second place at Eurovision in 2022 after the last place of the United Kingdom in the 2021 edition: a big leap.
“It was a little shock, I could hardly believe it: it is a feeling that accompanied me when the BBC proposed it to me and even when I returned home. I savored every single moment of the Eurovision experience, and I believe it will remain with me for the rest of my life ».
During the final I was in Turin, and I saw thousands of Italians, English, Spaniards and French sing his song: can music unite such different people?
«Absolutely yes, it is there for everyone to see: people who apparently have nothing in common and who have never met can sing the same song and form a single voice. I think, for example, about the power of a song like Wonderwall of Oasis and the unifying power it has always had in the UK. It is clear that Eurovision amplified that connection and that magic, even if at the beginning it was hard to believe ».
Meanwhile, from Turin he will arrive at Buckingham Palace on 4 June: electrified?
«I never expected it, especially considering that I started from TikTok. Yesterday I performed at Eurovision, tomorrow I will sing for the queen and the day after tomorrow I don’t really know what else could happen to me ».
Then for an Englishman to sing for the queen should be like a career award, don’t you think?
“Especially when we think about what the queen and the monarchy represent for the United Kingdom. It makes me even more impressive to think of the legends I will share the stage with, from Adam Lambert to Alicia Keys. I already know it will be the craziest day of my life. “
The climax would be to listen Space Man on next season’s soundtrack The Crown.
“Maybe it will be the next step after the exhibition at the Jubilee.”
About The Crowndo you watch tv series?
“When I do, yes, the problem is that there are too many and I haven’t finished many. Guy Bridgerton and the last of Star Wars And Vikings“.
During the lockdown we all devoured the TV series, while she discovered TikTok.
«The video of Baby One More Time, published for fun, got 2 million views in one day. Before that I had uploaded my videos to Instagram, but they were shot differently, paying attention to the footage, the lights and the rest. At the beginning of the first lockdown I decided to use only the telephone, and from there it all started ».
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As a child, what did you want to become when you grew up?
“Of course the astronaut, only I was afraid of finding myself in space alone.”
Now it is possible to travel in space: will you give us a little thought?
“Why not? Maybe I could give Jeff Bezos a call. ‘
Space aside, when did music become part of your life?
“I think it has always been a part of me. I started singing in school when I was 7 years old. Then, when I turned 14, I started playing guitar and there I discovered Queen, Stevie Wonder. I looked at these artists with admiration hoping that when I grew up I would find my identity. I think they were the reason that pushed me to take this path, I have never found anything that kept me as alive as music ».
When did you write the first songs?
“At school, on top of the science book: it helped me open it.”
And what were those songs about?
“I don’t know if they really had an underlying theme, because they were mostly style exercises inspired by the artists I liked. When you are small it is normal to imitate your favorite singers ».
Let’s dispel a myth: is it true that the most beautiful songs are written when one is sad?
“It is true that most of the best songs are born in the most painful moments, but it is also important to keep an eye on all the other emotions we feel, from joy to gratitude. I think, for example, of Stevie Wonder, who he managed to bring out as few feelings as serenity and translate them into words ».
I mean, she really likes Stevie Wonder.
“I love the celebration of the joy that pervades his songs, it’s an inspiration to me.”
Today, with social media, do you think it is easier to express and share certain feelings that until yesterday people kept hidden?
“Maybe, but, in principle, I’m happy to be born before social media. When I was a child there was a very rudimentary internet, but I can say that I was able to feel free and light. Today, however, it is quite another thing, given that the youngest grow up with TikTok, Instagram and the rest: the important thing is to be careful to use them in the right way “.
What do you miss from your former life?
“There is a profound connection between who I was and what I am: I do the same things I did years ago, I see the same people again, and I really like this.”
When you dream you have to do it without a budget, so I ask you: your next step in dreaming big?
“I’ve been wondering a lot lately, but the truth is, I don’t know. What is certain is that the thrill of performing on a stage like Eurovision, in front of 200 million people connected all over the world, I would like to continue to try. I would like to live my life day by day without making any particular plans, always trying to do my best ».
Listening to Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” becomes spatial
Eurovision 2022, Ukraine wins (Mahmood and Blanco finish sixth)
Eurovision Song Contest, the winners who made history
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Source: Vanity Fair
