Music is in my HEARTLAND

As Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder gears up to release his second album as an independent artist, he talks personal doubts, his love for Queen star Brian May... and why he's so determined to help struggling musicians find their big break

- By Fran Winston

F ANY musician knows how hard it is to get a record deal, it's Sam Ryder. Starting out at the age of 14, the 2022 Eurovision runner-up spent the first 15 years of his career in various bands struggling to be signed or seen.

"I was very much in a place in my life where I thought that it wasn't going to happen for me. I'd reached an age where people started to say, 'Get a real job,'" the 36-year-old admits today.

"When you're chasing those dreams, people [who] don't understand that think there's an end to it. But for me, there's no world in which I'm not playing music forever - no matter if it's in front of people or not."

Thankfully, Sam's positivity paid off. In 2020, then aged 31, he began posting videos on TikTok. Within months, 13 million fans were following him on the app.

Then Eurovision beckoned and Sam came second singing his own original song, Space Man - the UK's best result in decades. He's since scored a number one album and billions of streams. Talk about an intergalactic rise!

This October he will release his second album, Heartland more of which to follow. But he's also determined to give grassroots bands and singers a leg-up to help them reach those same dizzying heights.

Full of warm sincerity and boundless energy, Sam is currently backing a nationwide search for the UK's best grassroots talent in a competition run by brewer and retailer Greene King. It culminates in a live final on September 13. and Sam will help judge and mentor the eventual winner.

"I remember doing a battle of bands really early on in my pursuit of the dream. I must have been 16 years old, and we didn't win it, but we came close, and it gave us so much fire," he tells the Daily Express.

"And also amazing memories with my friends it was our school band; I'll never forget those times. You might not win, but it will open doors. And that's what this is all about."