United Kingdom UNITED KINGDOM 2022 - Sam Ryder - Space Man

[escYOUnited]

If I was an astronaut, I'd be floating in mid-air
And a broken heart would just belong to someone else down there
I would be the centre of my lonely universe
But I'm only human, and I'm crashing down to earth

If I was an astronaut, I'd have a bird's eye view
I'd circle 'round the world and keep on coming back to you
In my floating castle, I'd rub shoulders with the stars
But I'm only human, and I'm drifting in the dark

I'm up in space, man
Up in space, man
I've searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
There's nothing but space, man
And I want to go home

If I was an astronaut, I'd speak to satellites
My navigation systems would search for other life
But I'd be up here thinking 'bout what I'd left behind
'Cause I'm only human with the real world on my mind

I'm up in space, man
Up in space, man
I've searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
There's nothing but space, man
And I want to go home

Gravity keeps pulling me down
As long as you're on the ground, I'll stick around
Stick around
I'll stick around

I'm up in space, man
Up in space, man
I've searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
There's nothing but space, man, no
Oh, I'm in the wrong place, man
Nothing but, nothing but, nothing but space, man
Nothing but, nothing but, nothing but space, man

I've searched around the universe
Been down some black holes
Nothing but space, man
And I want to go home​

 

[MopManMoss]

Sadly Sam didn't pass the mum test - let my mum see the music video and she found the song underwhelming and Sam's voice more irritating than impressive.

Was more impressed when she heard the live performance, but she was doubtful that it would get a lot of support from the voting public. She has heard the song two more times now and commented that it was sounding a bit better after a few listens, so maybe it's a good job Sam is going all the promotion across Europe and we're not having to rely solely on first listen impact as I do think it takes this song and performance a couple of listens to bed in.

Yeah but brits are always incredibly self critical of what we send even on the odd occasion that we actually sent something half decent so lets just wait and see, weve not got too long now

 

[theditz83]

Yeah but brits are always incredibly self critical of what we send even on the odd occasion that we actually sent something half decent so lets just wait and see, weve not got too long now

My mum tends to always predict the Top 5 quite reliably. Not that I think UK will reach that height, but I was curious to see her thoughts all the same.

Desperate to see what the rehearsals will bring - sure Sam will nail the live vocals, so staging team, you got one job...

 

[MopManMoss]

the fact that the staging is big enough to need shipping worries me greatly

 

[Chrisiam]

Gotta get down with those space trumpets. Or maybe they are borrowing Spain's balloon moon from last year and they don't know how to deflate it so they are having to transport it as is.

 

[jeriswani]

Sadly Sam didn't pass the mum test - let my mum see the music video and she found the song underwhelming and Sam's voice more irritating than impressive.

Was more impressed when she heard the live performance, but she was doubtful that it would get a lot of support from the voting public. She has heard the song two more times now and commented that it was sounding a bit better after a few listens, so maybe it's a good job Sam is going all the promotion across Europe and we're not having to rely solely on first listen impact as I do think it takes this song and performance a couple of listens to bed in.

There is a lot of people who really like Sams voice and some who will hate it. It’s not a bad thing as people can’t vote against a country.

One of my friends also showed it to their mum who loved it and went on to buy Sam Ryders album. The important thing is that we have enough people who like the it and will pick up to phone. Not every winning song or even songs in the top 5 are ever universally liked by people.

On another note reviews from people who people who seem to have “expertise” in music/musicians have been really good.

My fav esc reviewer:

ESC 2022 | UNITED KINGDOM - Sam Ryder - Space Man (Reaction & Review)

Playlist for all the 2022 reviews:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcigv94drRYp9ERHMuljnROwJU-Zi_1qD

youtu.be

And Jan Bors (former Czech HoD):

UK can win, really! | Sam Ryder's 'Space Man' | Eurovision UK 2022

United Kingdom was on a long run throughout the universe to come back after infinite years and land in top 5! Let's talk!#SamRyder #Spaceman #EurovisionSUPPO...

youtu.be

Both were critical about the UK song last year.
The jury’s usually have a few people like this. Which is most likely why embers bombed in the televote. As long they are thinking that the song is well written then hopefully votes will come to the UKs way. You also have a lot of Radio hosts on the jury aswell. SO radio play is also important, which we are doing.

 

[DanielLuis]

the fact that the staging is big enough to need shipping worries me greatly

Same. Last year everyone was hyping up Greece's staging pre rehearsal and we know what mess that turned out to be

 

[jeriswani]

the fact that the staging is big enough to need shipping worries me greatly

I would be usually be worried however, it’s not the same stage director as last year. The best staging (apart from France) had big stage props. The head of the contest said “it’s the one to watch” ( which is what my hope is clinging onto )

 

[Chrisiam]

To be fair them saying "It's one to watch" might be because of what an utter car crash it is going to be. Which would feel on brand for the UK at the contest. So I'm erring on the side of pessimism until I see it for myself.

 

[Miss Antartica]

Cristiano Malgioglio said that his favorite is the U.K., he knows a lot of things last year he knew he would win Italy and the esc would take place in Turin he spoiled a lot of things not explicitly but he made it clear.

 

[Sawyer]

His voice is good but song is mediocre. It may end up like Adrenalina last year. This song is so overrated.

 

[Ianp16]

I cringe when I see him singing it...

 

[HarryUK]

Just please, no giant rocket with a pyrotechnic shower underneath it as it rises up. I'd sooner the polystyrene trumpets made a return

 

[ChiversLookDivine]

I stumble into this thread after a wave of positivity around the UK entry in multiple places and sources over the last 48 hours only to see all the Brits here have gone straight back into negativity mode. Calm, guys. This sort of needless panicking over nothing helps nobody. It's refreshing to see that none of us are running about shouting "we're guaranteed to win" but try to be a little bit positive for our best entry in a long time, yeah? How about waiting for something bad to happen first?

the fact that the staging is big enough to need shipping worries me greatly

What does shipping have anything to do with... anything? Maneskin's instruments would have been shipped ahead, as would Malta's bit of stage, Ukraine's bit of scenery/staging. It was a mere aside from Lee Smithurst that the staging had been sent to Turin after talking about Sam Ryder's creative vision, but some UK fans have gone into absolute meltdown at hearing we've shipped staging like that's somehow a bad thing. It literally tells us nothing about the quality of what's ahead, but I guess people have to go into knee-jerk worrying mode for absolutely no reason to cope with actually having a chance of a respectable finish?

Besides, that interview with Twan the other week said that many staging plans are scrapped because ambitious props and set designs cannot physically be shipped. That the UK staging could be shipped at all (and especially on a P&O ferry) suggests it's not over-the-top in scale.

To be fair them saying "It's one to watch" might be because of what an utter car crash it is going to be. Which would feel on brand for the UK at the contest. So I'm erring on the side of pessimism until I see it for myself.

Twan talking about Finland's staging and specifically the UK as "one to watch" came at the end of a long discussion about the running order, and thoughtful and creative staging, like how Italy submitted an 80-page document for their staging last year. Why are people deciding to retcon the quote to suit their own negativity? Twan was specifically talking about things in a positive light.

Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen stated that the show overall has a heightened level of creativity with many countries submitting well-developed plans. He recalls that the United Kingdom is “one to watch” too with regards to staging efforts.

 

[Tbglee]

Love when people hate on the U.K. for the attention…

 

[Mainshow]

Was more impressed when she heard the live performance, but she was doubtful that it would get a lot of support from the voting public. She has heard the

My mother loved it (so did my dad, btw) - My mother has already asked me twice "how did the UK finally get such a great artist?" + "do you have more songs by him? I´d like to listen a whole album" - the last time my mother asked for a whole album was Il Volo back in 2015.

 

[MopManMoss]

What does shipping have anything to do with... anything?

Because it generally means props and I do not trust the BBC with props

 

[ESC94]

My mother loved it (so did my dad, btw) - My mother has already asked me twice "how did the UK finally get such a great artist?" + "do you have more songs by him? I´d like to listen a whole album" - the last time my mother asked for a whole album was Il Volo back in 2015.

My mum isn´t really interested in Eurovision but today I listened to this song again after a long time to see whether my mood had changed. It seems it was a bit too loud because she came in and asked me what I´m listening to, and after I explained that this is the ESC song for this year she asked me this: "Did he pinch his testicals in a zipper or why does he sing so high??"

It seems she didn´t like it.

 

[Chrisiam]

I am neither panicking nor am I hating on the act for no reason. As I have said in the past I think the song is good and it is great to see so much genuine enthusiasm for the act this year from people outside the UK for once and it is also been nice to see the UK do as well in community polls and such.

However I feel there is a fine line between being cautiously optimistic and getting a little lost in the hype. As good as the response has been and as promising as certain statements on the staging have been I am taking nothing for granted. As we could easily see this crashing down around us with bad staging and Ryder giving a bum performance due to tired or strained vocals. I don't want that to happen. As I have said many times before, I hope that this is the turn around point, and that this kind of quality and approach becomes the norm. And that we look back at the past decade or so as a bad period and this was the time that the UK became a serious contender in the contest again rather than the guaranteed bottom finisher because this was just a one off flash of effort to take political pressure off the BBC.

If everything lands well. And we get a good place in the running order, we get good staging, and a good performance there is no reason why they UK can't end up in the Top 5. Sure, the most realistic best case scenario is Top 10 with Top 15 being likelier still. I will remain cautiously optimistic about how the song will do. And I am not planning on booking for Manchester 2023 or anything like that. Though to be fair last time I said that we had people talking about where it might get hosted so what do I know?

 

[Deleted member 12761]

I think it's going to do well and the UK deserves a positive moment. I'm not a big fan of the song myself. It's not my type of music. I wasn't a fan of "If I were sorry" either and that song was huge. Even German radios played it. It's a catchy and quality song from a talented singer. I can see the GP loving this and the song doing well on the radios.

 

[Iker]

Yeah but brits are always incredibly self critical of what we send even on the odd occasion that we actually sent something half decent so lets just wait and see, weve not got too long now

I would say it was often the other way around with a lot of exaggerated praises directed pre-contest. Sure it is normal to support your country but with the arguable from the beginny qualities of many of these entries it made me SMH.