The man behind the best Eurovision result for the UK so far in the 21st century — Sam Ryder — is back with new music. The 36-year old singer has released his sophomore album called Heartland, making it the first LP Sam Ryder has published after leaving Parlophone Records.
Sam Ryder releases “Heartland”
Following his appearance at Eurovision 2022, Sam released an album called There’s Nothing But Space, Man!, which went to the top spot of the UK charts. He performed in front of the Royal Family at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee party, received an Emmy nomination for “Fought & Lost”, and also became the first Eurovision act to receive a Brit Award nomination for Best New Artist.
Following his chart-topping success and a 14-date tour, he found out that his record label had fired the team who he had been working with him. Instead of staying with the new management to work on his second album, Sam left.
Not only did he leave, he moved to Nashville, USA. Living in the “spiritual home of country music,” as Sam has referred to the city, helped him write the new LP that dropped on 16 October. To help with the release of this new music, Sam signed to independent label Artist Theory last year, which saw him reuniting with former Parlophone executives. According to Sam, at least half of the record is a tribute to his partner Lois Gaskin-Barber, including “Better Man” and “Electric Marine Blue”.
What’s next? A London show! On 6 November, Sam Ryder takes to the stage at the OVO Arena Wembley in London. You can still get a ticket here.
Sam Ryder at Eurovision 2022
Despite being in the music industry for over a decade, Sam was relatively unknown until 2020, when during the Covid-19 lockdown he went viral on TikTok with his covers — he became the most popular UK artist on TikTok in that year. The unprecedented success on social media attracted attention of the BBC team as well.
Sam Ryder’s Eurovision story started in March of 2022, when he was announced as the next singer waving the UK’s flag at the Eurovision Song Contest. Before then, the UK had not finished in the top five for over a decade. Nevertheless, Sam entered the night of the Eurovision grand final as one of the favourites to win the show. Sam’s magical performance on “SPACE-MAN” brought joy to the British audiences at home as the UK topped the jury vote, including receiving 12 points from eight European juries. In total, “SPACE MAN” collected 466 points placing second out of 25 finalists. Sam Ryder achieved the United Kingdom’s best result at Eurovision since 1998.
