Entertainment
Sam Ryder says Ukraine ‘needed to win’ Eurovision over him to ‘shine light into darkness’ amid Russia warAlicia AdejobiEntertainment – Metro
Sam is on a high after his Eurovision triumph (Picture: PA)
Sam Ryder has proven to be a true sportsman after defending Ukraine’s Eurovision win despite his defeat.
The TikTok star enjoyed unprecedented success at this year’s song contest coming in second place, only narrowly beaten by Ukrainian hip hop group Kalush Orchestra who won the public vote.
Since the Grand Finale on Saturday, there has been a huge outpouring of support for both Sam and Kalush in the UK, but some have suggested the group won on a ‘sympathy vote’ in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine against Russian forces who invaded the country in February.
Throwing his own support behind Kalush, Space Man singer Sam said on Monday: ‘They needed to win that. They were always going to win that.
‘It’s so important that we use the platform of Eurovision to celebrate solidarity and to shine light into darkness.’
During his chat with Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2, the 32-year-old singer described the whirlwind journey of representing the UK at Eurovision, and said: ‘It’s just been the most rewarding experience ever and that experience started way before the scoreboard.
He was all smiles popping in to chat to Zoe Ball on Radio 2 on Monday morning (Picture: PA)
Kalush’s win for Ukraine had a deeper meaning in light of the current war against Russia (Picture: AP)
‘We were sat there in the green room and absolutely engulfed in the energy of that arena, it was like being in a church because there was so much joy.’
He added: ‘I’m sitting there with my friends who are also my team and that’s just so lucky. I’ve just been swept up in the joy that is Eurovision, I’m just so excited.’
As for where Sam goes next, it could quite literally be dizzying heights as he revealed his hopes to actually go to space, because why not?
More: Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking to Metro’s Guilty Pleasures, he teased: ‘I was hanging out with real astronaut in the Netherlands called Andre. He’s basically the equivalent of our Brian Cox, if Brian was also an astronaut.
‘He was talking me through all of his experiences with going up into space. Since I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut, which was the inspiration for the song.’
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Entertainment – Metro
