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Ryder first gained traction within the social media platform TikTok during the 2020 lockdown, where the promising singer began to upload covers of popular songs onto the app. The singer’s page soon gained attention from famous artists who even posted reaction videos to his performances, Ryder now has over twelve million followers and is one of the most followed UK artists within the platform. The artist’s success within the app soon caught the attention of the industry and he was quickly signed to a major record label, in 2021 Ryder was added to Parlophone’s roster.

The Essex born artist hopes to score high with his track “Space Man”, co-written by Grammy-winning artist and songwriter Amy Wadge and Max Wolfgang. The track is a previous winner of Tune of the Week on the Scott Mills’ show, broadcasted via BBC Radio 1. Mills was also responsible for the announcement itself, the news of Ryder’s entry was revealed by the DJ on the Radio 1 Breakfast show with Greg James. On the show, Ryder stated, “I love Eurovision. I think it’s such a privilege to be able to do it… I don’t want to let the stigma or fear of coming at a certain place in a table stop me from doing something and being a part of something that I enjoy so much. As long as I can go to Eurovision and know in my heart of hearts I’m going to do the best job I can then everything else is out of my control.”

The singer also expressed his excitement within a statement given to Eurovision.tv, “Having been a fan of Eurovision since I was a kid l I am so honoured to have been presented with the opportunity to sing at an event alongside some of Europe’s most talented creatives, performers and songwriters. I hope to sing my head off in a way the United Kingdom can be proud of, and to showcase a song I wrote with my friends last summer makes the whole experience even more special. See you in Turin legends!”

This year marks the 66th Eurovision Song Contest and is set to be held on 14th May 2022 in Turin, Italy. In February, it was announced that fellow British artist Mika would co-host the semi-finals and Grand Final. The “Grace Kelly” singer will share the hosting responsibilities with Laura Pausini and Alessandro Catelan.

The event has a long history of successes and losses, last year the UK received zero points with “Embers” by entrant James Newman and in 2019 the country’s entry “Bigger Than Us” by representative Michael Rice also finished last. Despite the UK’s recent bad luck, UK music fans remain hopeful that Ryder will break the streak and bring home a win.

As for where the song came from, frontman and songwriter Brendon Urie explained, ” I spent too long not setting my expectations high enough, worried about how it felt to fail.” He then went on to dedicate the single to his fanbase, those who helped him to realise he “had to aim high and fail, fail, fail in order to keep growing”.

Whether Urie will choose to play High Hopes during his live lounge slot is uncertain but, should any fans be disappointed with his song choices, they could always look back on his previous appearances instead. Panic! At The Disco have graced the Live Lounge before, performing in 2015 following the release of Death Of A Bachelor. Their set included not only the single Hallelujah from that album cycle, but also early release and fan-favourite I Write Sings Not Tragedies, as well as a cover of Starboy by The Weeknd and Daft Punk.

You can catch Panic!’s Radio One appearance by tuning in at 12pm on Tuesday the 29th, where their music will no doubt be joined by a short interview segment. However, if you want to hear High Hopes and the rest of Pray For The Wicked live, then you can find Panic! At The Disco on this year’s Reading & Leeds festival line-up from August 24th to 26th, tickets available here.