Parlophone co-presidents Mark Mitchell and Nick Burgess aren’t mincing words. They’re convinced they can turn Sam Ryder into a global superstar.
Speaking to Variety, Mitchell and Burgess — who signed Sam 18 months ago — said the decision to send Sam to Eurovision 2022 stemmed partly from the Måneskin effect.
“A lot of other people struggled with it, but we felt it was an incredible opportunity that you can’t say no to,” Burgess said.
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“Maneskin’s success last year proved that you could use it as a platform like any other promo opportunity, and become a global superstar on the back of it. They’ve redefined what it’s like to be a Eurovision winner.”
Mitchell made it clear they were well-aware of the U.K.’s woes in the contest.
“Somebody from another country said to me, ‘Every year, we invite the U.K. to this great party. We know they’ve got a brilliant wine cellar – but then they turn up with a bottle of supermarket wine!’ So this year, it was a case of getting a decent vintage out of the cupboard…”
And they got it right. Sam’s entry “SPACE MAN” hit #2 on the U.K. charts, behind only Harry Styles’ “As It Was”, making it the highest-charting Eurovision entry in the U.K. since Gina G’s “Ooo Ahh…Just a Little Bit” in 1996.
Burgess says Sam “has all the qualities you need for an artist to be a global star,” bringing together charisma, voice, songwriting skills and “a unique artist proposition” that people seem to like.
“There’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t emulate the success of all the other big, singer-songwriter male vocalists throughout the ages.”
Sam’s team say they’ll promote him in the United States over the summer and hope to make the most of interest in the American Song Contest there.
Michell is certain about something else too: A new single is coming soon.
“We’re getting him out to do more promo around the globe, but we’re not going to just let ‘Space Man’ sit there for the whole summer,” he says. “It’s really important we bring through Sam the artist, as well as having a hit song.”
Sam Ryder to sing at Outernet London on November 23
There are at least two big gigs on fans’ radars already.
The first is the Platinum Jubilee concert for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in London this weekend.
The second is a November 23 gig at the soon-to-open Outernet London — “a billion-pound immersive media, music and culture district” in the heart of London.
What do you expect from Sam’s follow-up single? Do you like that his label is already looking Stateside? And will you be attending the Outernet event? Let us know down below!
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Wish them all the best, but I think it’s a better strategy to cement his success in the UK market first before trying to win the US
So many so called Eurovision fans are so salty as for once the U.K. was actually back on form. Any other year we would have won. If we can get the right artists we could be a powerhouse at Eurovision especially as our music culture is one of the best in the world. This year the U.K. can actually win if they want. We have so many talented singers and song writers, and Sam has shown that Eurovision is not the poison chalice. I would love to see Dua Lipa as she would be perfect. It’s hilarious that these people… Read more »
Actually Maneskin showed it is not the poisoned chalice when Ch is a good thing.
Which!
Wishing hm the best of luck! 😀
Off topic: Festivali i Këngës 61 Song Submissions Open RTSH has opened song submissions for the 61st edition of Festivali i Këngës, the contest which is traditionally used to select the Albanian Eurovision representative. The Albanian public broadcaster RTSH has today opened the submissions window for songs to compete in Festivali i Këngës 61. RTSH has used Festivali i Këngës as the Albanian selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004, but has not yet stated it will be used in 2023, or if Albania will participate. To participate in the selection, the rules are as follows: The final… Read more »
I dont think he will. Ok spotify he still had not reached That many listens. Italy and Sweden are far over him, as well as SloMo and Ukraine! So Italy and Sweden are the real big successes in tearms of who is actually listen.
I don’t think it’s fair to provide all this public attention to Sam mainly because in the previous year UK has been mediocre. It is unfair towards other artists that are doing amazing (even better than him) despite achieving lower results in the Grand Final.
S10 is phenomenal in the charts (way better than Sam) without entering the top 10 in the Final. And see no articles celebrating her success.
Oh God, I apologize for the number of typos 🙁
Don’t comment while doing laundry I guess
Must be a lot of crap stains to remove I guess.
You know that being a d**k won’t make your d**k bigger, right?
What a sad live some people conduct…
Oh the irony
That’s exactly what has happened here in the UK. We came from such a low to such a high that Sam is even getting more acclaim in 2022 than Katrina did when she won in 1997.
It is this year zi am speaking about. Sam has a lot less listens on Spotify than Italy and Sweden. It is the best way to measure commercial success. And Spotify is very much used in the UK that have a much bigger population than Sweden. So it is not a gray success yet. Italy is far more successful.
That is what my broken English was trying to say, that the visibility provided to the UK’s success this year is mostly based on their failures in previous years, rather than on Sam’s achievements.
I made the example of S10 because “De diepte” didn’t even enter the 10 in the Finals, yet the streams are amazing (more than Space Man). And i have not seen one article mentioning her, but countless on Sam.
Yes, it is strange that the focus is in Space Man. I think Sweden is a good testing market for the potentail of Eurovision afterwards since so many look at it. Sam have come up on the list – but not on the top. The greatest flop is Zdob si Zdud. Why did people vote for it and no one is listens to it afterwards? I don’t understand the public voting.
Because Eurovision is a show, not only a song contest. I would never listen to “Zdob si Zdud”, but when I watched the Finals with friends it was a fun moment that lightened up the room. Brividi, which is probably my most streamed song from this year after “Slomo” and “Hold me closer”, is on my playlist but did not receive any votes from me during the contest. The voices were off key and the performance was nothing like the one in Sanremo. I just think the public acclamation for Sam Ryder (post contest) is hyper-inflated and does not reflect… Read more »
Voting for songs that you would never listen to outside the contest, not voting for the ones that you would actually listen to instead, that’s a very detrimental attitude towards ESC.
Voting based on the performance is detrimental?
What is the point of a live show then, let’s just vote songs on streaming platforms.
Live performance obviously matters, but voting for something you’ll never listen to afterwards means you’re just lying to yourself, that’s not helping the contest develop at all, it’s exactly the opposite.
Chanel does not have a discography, Sam has already an EP, hype, festivals and shows booked and a big label and team behind him.
Overrated, if it wasn’t for EBU rigging the votes from Azerbaijan, Romania, Poland, San Marino, Montenegro, Georgia on the grand final he wouldn’t have finished that high… He won’t succeed in the US, let’s be honest. They’ll make fun of his ridiculous, pitchy voice… Oh, and his outfit in Eurovision was a total flop. How can an artist dress like that?? ? Like a clown from children Birthday parties, and Jesus…those shoes? He should have gone for a metalic suit, more punk-rock-ish, not….that!!!!
Someone hasn’t taken a leak in a while. So pissy
typical salt.
Sam’s song is so amazing, I could definitely hear it on radio here in Canada!
I’ve felt this from the beginning with Sam. It wasn’t so much the song that got him a great result, it was his voice and also his charisma. He’s just a star and they really lucked out with him. He will be a tough act to follow. I expect great things from Sam.
Honestly, he’s the only ESC2022 act with success after Eurovision; sold out EU shows + London shows, SPACE MAN became a radio hit, Sam is performing in the Jubilee concert which is the biggest gig in the UK this year and has a new album coming up in October.
Chanel has potential but she does not have any songs apart from SloMo so it remains to be seen how far she can go outside Spain/
You just stated a bunch of lies to prove your point: NONE of his shows in the EU is sold out; He NEVER said he will release a new album this year; SloMo has almost DOUBLE the streams of Space Man (In their domestic charts, Chanel is still #14, while Sam is #24). Sam is big in his country, just like many other many other Eurovision artists are in their own markets. The overall biggest success at this Eurovision are objectively Blanco (whose tour of 34 shows in Italy in big venues is ALL sold out), and Mahmood (whose shows… Read more »
Good luck to Sam, but of the UK’s problem in the contest has been that we pay more attention to the US market than Europe.
well the US market is every artist’s goal. Netta is signed to US label now and she’s spending more time there than in Europe or Israel. Duncan Laurence too, he’s recording in California and cancelled tour dates in Europe as he’s preparing his new album. maneskin well we all know how US centric their career is now.
I hope this will be some sort of a renaissance for the UK. I hope they will continue to send great entries! But one thing, no artist needs to crack the US charts to be successful. They can very well be huge elsewhere. But if they do, then they obviously are great. I’m saying this since there is quite a difference between Europe’s music charts and the US’ music charts. Anyway, happy pride month!
“ hope to make the most of interest in the American Song Contest there. “
LOL
as an american, i couldn’t help but laugh out loud reading that
I bet they meant the Kelly Clarkson show/
OMG so excited for Sam Ryder, he is amazing!!! I would love to see him become a hit!
Space Man (at least in its Eurovision form) has the ability to do extremely well and should be promoted.
Sam is a phenomenal artist and deserves success wherever he can find it. He needs to bring out more original songs for us to all enjoy! And I think because he made the UK look so much better on the world stage, he deserves some kind of honour or knighthood.
I could definitely envision “Space Man” getting airplay on Top 40 radio here if Sam and his label play their cards right.
Even without the Eurovision connection and prestige behind it, it was already a pretty good song to begin with.
Sam’s London shows are sold out and it’s really important that he’s going to perform in this new venue in central London! Also what an honor to perform in the Jubilee show among big stars! It shows a lot about the change of Eurovision perception in UK but also the fact that BBC took it seriously this year to support their artist! I hope the best for Sam – they just released a new CD Single for Jubilee signed by Sam himself and pre-ordered it (it’s available on Warner Music store). His new album will be out this October. To… Read more »
Hi Sam’s manager
The UK is fully on its conquest to a successful future in Eurovision. They truly could be on par with Italy, if not better, if they nail it every year.
It will difficult, i mean look at France. They’ve had some successes and a 2nd place last year but flopped hard this year. Sometimes, it’s difficult to predict the outcome even if you send an interesting entry.
Sad thing is that Fuelen was good and what many Tanx fans wanted
Netherlands 2014 and 2015 comes to mind.
Just like Germany 2018: France 2021, UK 2022 and Spain 2022 could be only a one-year-of-luck!
I hope not because Benidorm can deliver quality and UK has a successful team behind the Eurovision team.
France lacked of good songs in their national final this year and everything seemed rushed compared to 2021 (perhaps because of the junior eurovision)
Germany was lucky with Michael in 2018 as the staging saved him and it was his decision. Nothing to do with the ESC team.
Italy success is due to the Italian music industry’s long time commitment to Sanremo. UK doesn’t have that, they have one of their top music industry companies committed and who knows how long that will last. Spain has a better chance of repeat success if most of their music industry buys into Benidorm Fest format.
UK has TaP Music and a change of perception within the country which is important.
Spain has Benidorm festival that delivers quality.
Start with the original (3:32) version of ” Space Man”. Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade” went gold in the U.S. TWO YEARS after it won. If Sam promotes “Space Man” to U.S. radio and streaming, it’ll catch on faster.