UK Eurovision hopeful Sam Ryder just misses out on victory as he places second to Ukraine

dailystar.co.uk:

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 has officially come to an end with Ukraine taking first place, while the UK's Sam Ryder finished in second place.Singer and TikTok star Sam Ryder led the way for the United Kingdom and put on a spectacular performance with his song Space Man.But as millions of Eurovision spectators watched 25 countries take to the stage in this year's final, it was the Ukraine who was crowned Eurovision winners.After the UK received 0 points in the competition last year with James Newman's song Embers, a lot was riding on Sam's entry with hopes that his song could be the winning formula.And although the bookies seemed to rate the song favourably, going into the competition Sam told the press that he didn't want to get his hopes up.The star said: "We’re flattered, but it’s just a number, so let’s not get hyped."Trying to ensure that the UK didn't end up last for the second time in a row, the strategy for choosing this year's song was very different from previous years.Throughout most of the competition’s history, the UK candidate has been chosen through a televised competition, but last year the BBC enlisted the help of record label BMG.

Ben Mawson and Ed Millett of TaP Music, who are known for managing artists such as Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and Dua Lipa certainly got involved in the process of choosing what they hoped would be the winning song.Discussing the UK's previous failed attempts in the competition, Ben said: "The bottom line was: why, in the home of some of the most wonderful pop music in the world, are we doing so badly each year?"Ahead of the competition, Sam revealed he wasn't focusing his attention on winning the competition.He explained: "My personal goal for this is to sing with the same.