2006–2019: Beginnings Ryder made his debut as a singer and guitarist at age 16 when he co-founded the band The Morning After, with whom he released two studio albums; ''You Can't Hurt Steel
(2009) and Legacy
(2011). Both albums were released under independent label Rising Records. During the Legacy'' era, manager Josh Keating (aka JK Mizu) challenged Rising Records founder Mark Daghorn over the band's lack of royalty payments. Shortly after, Daghorn abrubtly closed Rising Records and fled to Barbados leaving The Morning After and many other bands in the dark. Following The Morning After split he joined as a guitarist and new lead vocalist for the Canadian Rock band
Blessed by a Broken Heart and contributed to their album
Feel the Power. He parted ways with the band in 2013, and auditioned to become the new lead vocalist for the American Rock band
Close Your Eyes, and contributed to their album
Line in the Sand and left in 2014. After his departure from Close Your Eyes, Ryder returned to Britain and spent time working in construction with his father, including helping to build the
Wembley Stadium. In 2016, Ryder recorded an album with producer Bryan Wilson in
Nashville, Tennessee, although it was never released. He later opened up a
vegan café with his partner in
Coggeshall, England, before its closure in 2019. He was a wedding singer in the south-east of England until the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–2022: TikTok and Eurovision , 2022 Ryder rose to prominence through TikTok where, starting with the
first lockdown during the
COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, he began posting his music covers. He caught the attention of musicians such as
Elton John,
Sia,
Justin Bieber, and
Alicia Keys. By the end of the same year, he was named the most- followed UK artist on the platform. He later signed a record contract with
Parlophone. In 2021, he released his debut EP, ''The Sun's Gonna Rise'', which has accumulated over 100 million global streams. It was followed up with a sold-out tour. Ryder wrote "
Space Man" during the pandemic, and in January 2022, the song was sent to TaP Music and the
BBC. In the same month, he accepted their offer to represent the country in the contest. On 10 March 2022, he was announced as the for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with "Space Man". Ryder toured Europe between March and May 2022 to promote his entry. In an interview for
Sky News, he spoke about the injury he had sustained in
Madrid during his tour after crashing into a metal bar. On 12 May 2022, the BBC aired a documentary on
BBC iPlayer and YouTube which detailed Ryder's journey to Eurovision. At the Eurovision final in
Turin, Italy, he finished in second place with 466 points, becoming the highest-scoring UK Eurovision entrant. He won the jury vote and scored the UK its best result since 1998 and its first top three since 2002. Ryder also won a
Marcel Bezençon Press Award, becoming the first UK act to win a Bezençon Award. After the contest, "Space Man" peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart, becoming the highest-charting UK Eurovision entry since
Gina G's "
Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" in 1996. In June 2022, Ryder performed "Space Man" at the
Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert,
Platinum Party at the Palace. In July 2022, he performed the
British national anthem at the
British Grand Prix at
Silverstone. On 19 August, he released his follow-up single, "Somebody", which reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for the song, released the same day, was shot in
Šimanovci on the set of Serbian reality show
Zadruga. On 2 September 2022, Ryder released "Living Without You", a collaboration with
Sigala and
David Guetta. On 3 September, he performed
Queen's "
Somebody to Love" along with Queen members
Brian May and
Roger Taylor, at a tribute concert for
Taylor Hawkins at London's
Wembley Stadium. On 26 September 2022, he performed a headline show at Lafayette in London for National Album Day, in partnership with the charity
War Child. Between October and November 2022, Ryder embarked on his first European tour which spanned 19 dates, beginning in
Cologne, Germany on 12 October and concluding in
London, United Kingdom on 24 November. He is scheduled to embark on his UK and Ireland tour spanning 14 dates, beginning 17 March 2023 in
Belfast and concluding on 5 April 2023 in
Brighton. On 13 October 2022, Ryder opened the
National Television Awards. "All the Way Over" was released on 4 November 2022, as the next single from his forthcoming debut album.
2022–2024: ''There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' On 9 December 2022, his debut studio album ''
There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' was released. The album debuted atop of the
UK Albums Chart, making Ryder the first British male solo artist to debut at number one with their first record in over three years, and the first solo artist to debut at number one with their first full-length release since
Olivia Rodrigo's
Sour (2021). In the same month, Ryder also performed at the
Royal Variety Show. On 22 November, Ryder announced a special New Year's Eve show, which aired on BBC One and iPlayer, titled ''Sam Ryder Rocks New Year's Eve,'' on 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023. He was joined by guest musicians, including
Melanie C,
Sigrid and
Justin Hawkins. In January 2023, Ryder was nominated for
Best New Artist at the
2023 Brit Awards, becoming the first Eurovision act to be nominated in this category. In the same month he voiced the character of Brian in
Messy Goes to OKIDO, a British television series aired on
CBeebies. In February 2023, Ryder performed a cover version of "
I'm Good (Blue)" alongside Guetta at the
Brit Awards 2023. In March 2023, he released a cover version of "
You Got the Love" in partnership with
Matalan for its spring brand campaign. He was also nominated for the Rising Star award at the
2023 Global Awards. In April, Ryder in his first brand collaboration on a TV advert was featured in a TV and social campaign with
Vodafone. He was announced as the company's new ambassador. On 12 May 2023, Ryder released his new single "
Mountain" for a global brand campaign with
Ottobock, and performed it at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with some of their disabled performers who joined him on stage. It peaked at number 35 on the
UK Singles Chart. On 24 May 2023, he released a collaboration with
Brian May, called "Fought & Lost" for the drama series
Ted Lasso. He performed the song with
Hannah Waddingham (who was also one of the presenters of the 2023 Eurovision contest) at the
Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. In July, was nominated for his first
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In August, Ryder was announced as a nominee for the
MTV Video Music Awards. His song 'All the Way Over' was nominated for Push Performance of the Year category. In September, he had parted ways with his record label of 3 years, Parlophone, following the completion of his one-album deal. In November, Ryder won a
Hollywood Music in Media Award for his song "Fought & Lost." That same month he released a brand new single called "
You're Christmas to Me" for the
Your Christmas or Mine 2 soundtrack and it peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart, becoming the
Christmas number two after being beaten to the top spot by "
Last Christmas" by
Wham!.
2024–present: Heartland and independent artist in June 2025. In January 2024, Ryder announced that he had begun work on his upcoming second studio album. He also released a new single in collaboration with Korean actor and singer
Kim Min-seok called "Back in Love". The song topped the Korean chart, Melon Music. In January 2025, Ryder was nominated for his second consecutive
Brit Award for his song "
You're Christmas to Me". On 21 March 2025 he released his new single "White Lies". On his new music, Ryder stated, "I've never felt so sure of who I am as artist and I'm so proud of this new music, I can't wait for you all to hear it". On 29 June 2025 he played the Avalon stage at
Glastonbury Festival On 24 June, Ryder released his new EP,
OH OK, after his move to Nashville to record his new album which will be released on 17 October. He is set to host "Music On Stage 2025", a global music competition for
TikTok, in September 2025. Ryder's second studio album
Heartland was released on 17 October 2025, and debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart a week later. In support of the album, Ryder embarked on a UK tour, from 21 October in
Liverpool, ending with a 6 November 2025 concert at
Wembley Arena. On 7 November 2025, it was announced that Ryder will star as Jesus in
Tim Rice and
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Jesus Christ Superstar at the
London Palladium from 20 June to 5 September 2026, making his
West End debut. == Personal life ==