Sam Ryder rose to fame via Tiktok during the pandemic in 2020 and later that year he was named the most-followed artist on Tiktok.

As well as building a huge fan base via the platform, Ryder also built a massive support network when he caught the attention of Elton John, Sia, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and more! This led to a record deal with Parlophone.

Ryder released his first EP under Parlophone In 2021 titled The Sun’s Gonna Rise.

Sam Ryder however, for many of us, is best known for representing the UK at Eurovision in 2022 with his song Space Man. Reaching 2nd place and deservedly so, Ryder has pretty much been a national treasure since.

Ryder has since released an album titled There’s Nothing But Space Man. The album debuted at number one and delivered four singles; Space Man, Somebody, Living Without You, All the Way Over.

When we saw Sam Ryder on the BST line up we were very excited! We had only heard good things about his live performances from his sell out tours!

Sam entered The Great Oak Stage promptly at 4.30 pm, a huge opening slot for him supporting P!nk!

Dressed in a very colourful, floral, wooly outfit! (Yes wooly which seems insane in the heat, so he must have been very hot), Sam beamed on stage the moment he arrived!

Ryder drew a large crowd! Starting with the song Somebody, the audience were engaged from the get go!

Ryder is an incredible vocalist and live, he sounds even better. A rare talent to match the likes of Freddie Mercury, Ryder sings with full theatrical emotion and his face is always wonderfully expressive when he sings.

Living Without You followed and Sam took full advantage of the catwalk that was set up for Pink later in the evening!

Ryder is full of energy and passion on stage. Appreciating and likely savouring every moment, his well known humble and kindness came across well on stage!

Put a Light on Me was popular with the crowd! Ryder is just so easy to watch! Everything he performs is like being in a west end show! He is just fabulous!

A crowd interactive moment came from him getting the crowd to mimic his “La’s”. This reminded me of Queen during Live Aid!

Tiny Riot was next which was incredible live but it was Mountain of course that really took the crowd by storm. A true anthem and a flawless song live, the song was made to be performed in front of tens of thousands.

His band were exceptional and his guitar playing was also incredible to witness! He plays with such ease.

A medley of covers brought us The Source’s feat Candi Staton’s You’ve Got The Love, Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Misery Business by Paramore! This was definitely a fun moment for us in the crowd!

“This is a song about never giving up, a song for the near misses. This song is for everyone out there” Ryder says before performing a song I didn’t quite catch.

Of course, as expected, he closed with the sensational Space Man! Every word was sung by pretty much every member of the audience. The chanting chorus of voices could probably be heard for miles it was that loud and that beautiful!

With Ryder’s birthday being the next day (Sunday 25th June) he told the crowd that this performance at BST Hyde Park was the best birthday present he could have received.

Ryder is a natural performer on stage and has one of the best voices in the industry! He is quite simply an absolute joy to watch! His happiness and zest for life is always infectious and he is such a loveable person! You can’t help but feel somewhat proud of him when you watch him perform!