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United Kingdom UNITED KINGDOM 2022 - Sam Ryder - Space Man

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  • 12

    74 30.1%
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  • 7

    33 13.4%
  • 6

    20 8.1%
  • 5

    14 5.7%
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    8 3.3%
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  • Total voters
    246

escYOUnited

Administrator
Joined
September 28, 2009
Posts
1,355

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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​
 

digitaldude

Active member
Joined
May 22, 2012
Posts
96
Well deserved 2nd congrats, no guarantee that this would have won without the situation in Ukraine happening like some are saying, finished 5th in the televote.
 

bstream

Well-known member
Joined
November 28, 2012
Posts
847
This result was deserved, and here’s why. The UK sent something that could actually chart. They found a naturally gifted vocalist in Sam. Unlike other gifted performers that even the UK has recently sent, Sam had the added, and in my opinion crucial to this result, charisma factor. While Sam was already signed to a label, he has definitely honed-in his charisma through years of building a social media presence, talking directly with fans and being responsive to feedback. He approached Eurovision with a smile on his face and a pep in his step. For all we know, he could have been miserable. However, we wouldn’t even know because he traveled Europe to virtually every pre-party, danced and sung alongside his fellow contentestants, and displayed endless humility throughout it all. Getting any points felt like a victory to him, and that’s the attitude you need.

The results this year were quite possibly the most telling they have been in years. If I were the UK and Spain, and to a different extent, Australia, Germany, and Azerbaijan, I’d be taking notes. You all have now at some point in the last 10 years “figured it out.” In the case of the latter 3, they figured it out then immediately backslid. For the UK, this could be their “Anouk” moment — and it should be — but it falls on the UK Delegation’s lap to see what they do next.
 

MAD20

Well-known member
Joined
March 11, 2020
Posts
614
As a Spaniard, I must admit I was gutted we were overtaken in the very last moment, but, let's be honest, Sam's performance was simply breathtaking. Congrats UK, you've seen you can get far if you do things well and send people who are indeed keen on the contest.
 

PhoenixAscends

Active member
Joined
May 11, 2022
Posts
36
Location
United Kingdom
Well deserved 2nd congrats, no guarantee that this would have won without the situation in Ukraine happening like some are saying, finished 5th in the televote.
Fifth in the televote is a win for us! The fact people picked up their phones, spent their hard earned money to vote for us. ❤️ We don’t have mega close neighbours/allies, we don’t have masses of our people spread over Europe (compared to other nations) Couldn’t have asked for more. ❤️ to Europe.
 

ManiaMuse

Active member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Posts
46
I risk getting myself exiled for this but in my opinion we were quite overrated. The whole song still has that BBC Eurovision waft to it, which is why I never rated its chances, always thinking 11th to 15th was more likely for this entry but I was proved wrong. I guess the thing here that really shone through was the fact that for once we were sending a highly competent and charismatic (even if he's too hammy for my personal taste) singer. The song itself wasn't bad either. It has a good build up to it and explodes just when it needs to.

The best thing about this all (as others have already mentioned) is that now with confidence we can shoot down with evidence any of the "but Europe hates us" rubbish that gets spewed. After years of sending either bad songs or alright-ish songs performed by artists with next to no stage presence, all it took was a half decent song performed by an impressive vocalist who looked like he actually wanted to be there on that stage, and who gave it 110%. It was that simple, and there's plenty more like Sam we can easily find and send.

It will be very interesting to see what happens next for us. I personally hope we avoid immediately going down another cheesy route, even if it did us extremely well this year. I'd love to see us send a current R&B/soul artist, genres I think our country excels at. Someone like Jorja Smith, Nao, Yola, Joy Crookes.. or if we wanted to take a cool risk, an artist along the lines of FKA Twigs would be hot.
I'm not sure what we should send next. I think Sam has proved that a lot of the result comes down to the artist as much as the song.

The song we sent was recognisably British to a European audience (inspirations from David Bowie/Elton John/Queen/The Beatles/Oasis and 90s Britpop) but without sounding completely like a naff pastiche written just for Eurovision. Maybe it wasn't everyone's favourite song in the competition but it was good enough that a singer like Sam could take it to the next level.

Elements which helped us I think were:

- Strong and distinct vocal (super important for the jury results)
- Strong song with a memorable hook and big chorus + build to the finale
- Striking staging/lighting + the revamped guitar bridge/guitar solo which elevated the overall performance without seeming too much like a gimmick
- A charismastic singer with lots of stage and TV presence and confidence to consistently deliver in every rehearsal and show
- Hard work from Sam and his team promoting the song, touring Europe and doing all the interviews giving all the right answers with lots of positivity and smiles and causing no silly controversies
- Sound artistic decisions for the overall package. Even things like his costume and the outfits that he wore to all the press envents and interviews I think show that he 'got' Eurovision without appearing to take the piss out of Europeans. It was sparkly and distinctive (at least compared to our previous 'non-descript British man wearing black leather jacket' efforts) but still had Sam's personality all over it

I do think we need to send a singer with lots of live singing experience. It doesn't necessarily need to be someone who is signed to a label already, even Ed Sheeran learnt his craft couchsurfing and doing gigs at tiny clubs every night until he got picked up. Sam clearly learnt a lot from all the hard knocks of playing with his previous cover bands and singing at weddings etc. and then building up his Tik Tok following. We usually see each year some of the previously unknown performers who have got to Eurovision by national finals/selection processes struggle with nerves come the big night. We had none of that from Sam.

It is a hard line to know what to send though and judging the mood of Europe for the following year. France sent something different this year which had a big Eurovision fan following but it flopped with both the juries and televote. Maybe it was just too out there or a bit dated like Eurovision circa 2010? But then Serbia sent something completely avant-garde which the juries were not so keen on but the public absolutely adored (might again be the personality rather than the song?).

Moldova can send a folk-punk song which the juries hated inexplicably but the public thought was a riot (probably appealed to the dad voters). However if the UK were to try something similar like sending rapping morris dancers or sending Electro Velvet again we know it would be a complete flop. Norway was hyped by the fans, still did badly with the juries and was not as big a success with the public (perhaps it was seen as trying too hard).

The big ballads of Poland, Switzerland and Australia all did fairly well with the juries but all almost the points from the public went to Poland. On the other hand the juries didn't rate Lithuania's song but it clearly touched the public's mood.

Spain and Sweden were predictably slick and did well with both and without Ukraine would have beaten us. Having said that, neither song was anything revolutionary, we have heard similar songs before but the artists both elevated the songs like Sam did. As long as we don't do a Germany and send something completely annoying and forgettable. Or think that sending another generic pop song like Belgium is the answer.

It's a confusing game to play basically. All I hope is that we are able to build on this momentum and not revert to our old ways again next year.
 
Last edited:

blue00eyes

Well-known member
Joined
February 21, 2014
Posts
2,619
Location
Polska
I expected more televotes but it doesn't matter anymore. Congratulations UK, live version was so much better, Sam was brilliant, he owned the stage, he had fun and you are the only country that gave me true winner vibes last night.

Thank you for jury points , that was a wtf moment we received jury points from UK
 

PhoenixAscends

Active member
Joined
May 11, 2022
Posts
36
Location
United Kingdom
I'm not sure what we should send next. I think Sam has proved that a lot of the result comes down to the artist as much as the song.

The song we sent was recognisably British to a European audience (inspirations from David Bowie/Elton John/Queen/The Beatles/Oasis and 90s Britpop) but without sounding completely like a naff pastiche written just for Eurovision. Maybe it wasn't everyone's favourite song in the competition but it was good enough that a singer like Sam could take it to the next level.

Elements which helped us I think were:

- Strong and distinct vocal (super important for the jury results)
- Strong song with a memorable hook and big chorus + build to the finale
- Striking staging/lighting + the revamped guitar bridge/guitar solo which elevated the overall performance without seeming too much like a gimmick
- A charismastic singer with lots of stage and TV presence and confidence to consistently deliver in every rehearsal and show
- Hard work from Sam and his team promoting the song, touring Europe and doing all the interviews giving all the right answers with lots of positivity and smiles and causing no silly controversies
- Sound artistic decisions for the overall package. Even things like his costume and the outfits that he wore to all the press envents and interviews I think show that he 'got' Eurovision without appearing to take the piss out of Europeans. It was sparkly and distinctive (at least compared to our previous 'non-descript British man wearing black leather jacket' efforts) but still had Sam's personality all over it

I do think we need to send a singer with lots of live singing experience. It doesn't necessarily need to be someone who is signed to a label already, even Ed Sheeran learnt his craft couchsurfing and doing gigs at tiny clubs every night until he got picked up. Sam clearly learnt a lot from all the hard knocks of playing with his previous cover bands and singing at weddings etc. and then building up his Tik Tok following. We usually see each year some of the previously unknown performers who have got to Eurovision by national finals/selection processes struggle with nerves come the big night. We had none of that from Sam.

It is a hard line to know what to send though and judging the mood of Europe for the following year. France sent something different this year which had a big Eurovision fan following but it flopped with both the juries and televote. Maybe it was just too out there or a bit dated like Eurovision circa 2010? But then Serbia sent something completely avant-garde which the juries were not so keen on but the public absolutely adored (might again be the personality rather than the song?).

Moldova can send a folk-punk song which the juries hated inexplicably but the public thought was a riot (probably appealed to the dad voters). However if the UK were to try something similar like sending rapping morris dancers or sending Electro Velvet again we know it would be a complete flop. Norway was hyped by the fans, still did badly with the juries and was not as big a success with the public (perhaps it was seen as trying too hard).

The big ballads of Poland, Switzerland and Australia all did fairly well with the juries but all almost the points from the public went to Poland. On the other hand the juries didn't rate Lithuania's song but it clearly touched the public's mood.

Spain and Sweden were predictably slick and did well with both and without Ukraine would have beaten us. Having said that, neither song was anything revolutionary, we have heard similar songs before but the artists both elevated the songs like Sam did. As long as we don't do a Germany and send something completely annoying and forgettable. Or think that sending another generic pop song like Belgium is the answer.

It's a confusing game to play basically. All I hope is that we are able to build on this momentum and not revert to our old ways again next year.
Great analysis. I feel like Sam was a one of a kind that ticked all those boxes. It’s going to be hard to find something or someone to top that whole package. Not saying the song was awesome (although dramatically elevated with the ending) but the whole package (as you described) was amazing.

I’m just saying we won with this attempt and won’t hear any different 😂. I really don’t feel like this is going to be the start of a run of great entries, as sad as that makes me. I would LOVE to be proved wrong and let’s see what happens in subsequent years.

Europe played their part and showed us that we can do well if we actually show up and give it our all. Just a shame we couldn’t get the win. He deserved it, although he’s happy as anything to just have proved to the UK public that it can be done.

Sam’s a star ⭐
 

Leydan

Worldvision Mod
Staff member
Joined
March 1, 2013
Posts
18,238
Location
UK
Eurovision reached a peak of 10.6 million last night, with an average of 8.9 million. It had an 80% audience share of the viewers last night. 1.5 million increase on the year before.

Also the secretary of state for business has said it would be an honour for the UK to host, but given what Zelensky said it looks like Ukraine wants to host.

source
 

Rocket man

Well-known member
Joined
March 25, 2022
Posts
708
I can't stop going to the UK's ESC wikipedia page and scrolling down to see a silver line. It feels unreal. We need more of this thank you very much.
I do the exact same thing. Just knowing that Sam Ryder came 2nd like Italy's "Soldi", Cyprus's "Fuego", France's "Voilà, the Netherlands "Calm After The Storm". Very proud.
 
Last edited:

Milos-BC

Well-known member
Joined
September 28, 2009
Posts
12,447
Location
Serbia
Delighted with this result, Sam was out of this world.

I hope this result will make BBC realize how ridiculous some of their excuses were in the past. As soon as they stepped up once, the outcome is radically different.

Enjoy your success, very well deserved.
 

Ianp16

Well-known member
Joined
April 15, 2015
Posts
792
Location
Manchester
Eurovision reached a peak of 10.6 million last night, with an average of 8.9 million. It had an 80% audience share of the viewers last night. 1.5 million increase on the year before.

Also the secretary of state for business has said it would be an honour for the UK to host, but given what Zelensky said it looks like Ukraine wants to host.

source

I doubt the EBU will want to plan a contest in a country in a state of unresolved war. It's sad but it's completely out of the question, unless things are resolved between Russia and Ukraine before July. It's sad.
 
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