United Kingdom 2022: Sam Ryder with ‘Space Man’
There's been a few poorly kept secrets this year. Sam Ryder with Space Man may be the biggest example after the BBC finally confirmed his participation :
Ah the UK, and for the first time a while a somewhat hyped UK so there's lots to discuss:
Firstly there are two broad camps here, the 2/3rds or so seeing this as a typical nice, safe effort destined for mid table and the 1/3rd perhaps who have this as one of the best of the year. I'll be honest, I'm in the first group and to see this sat at 5th favourite is a surprise to me but at the end of the day we don't really matter, the fact there are people who love this is good for it's chances but that puts it no higher than that grouping of Netherlands, Norway, France and Spain for example in the odds.
Sam is a great singer and does look and sound like he belongs on the stage but really this should be the minimum and the hype around this may be because there was literally no way to be worse than the preceding entry, the general standard of the UK songs and this coming right at the end of what's seen as a weak year. Would people be as excited about this if a country without a big domestic betting or fan presence chose it in the middle of January? Its something to be wary of with the UK and there's a tendency for ‘good’ to automatically jump to ’great’.
There's some potential with staging but I do hope Marvin Dietman wasn't just approached to see if Blas’ moon from last year is on hand, a gimmicky show might be tempting but I'm not sure it would come off. I’d rather a literal approach to being in space was avoided, keep the mix between the astronaut lyrics and real meaning more subtle. The UK of all countries can't have this guy suspended in midair in a spacesuit or anything that could be deemed taking the piss. Work is needed to make this memorable in a 25 song final given its middle of the road, mid tempo nature (not criticisms) but have the faith in the guy to sell this without making it look like a comic relief special.
If this is presented seriously it will get jury respect and in this year its not impossible they have this top 5. The televote support for the UK has to be questioned more especially if this drew 1st half. This may continue being pushed down for a bit but if you're looking for something to threaten Italy (and Ukraine if they're in) there are stronger and longer options.
Personal Rating: 6/10
Competitive Rating: 7/10
Early Prediction: 9th-13th