Sam Ryder is hitting London’s Hackney Empire this week but he won’t be the star of the show.
The Eurovision favourite will instead be cheering on everyday singers from across the UK as they take centre stage for the finale of Channel 4’s new talent series Your Song, which films on Friday October 24.
Ryder, who serves as one of the show’s mentors alongside Paloma Faith and host Alison Hammond, says the concert will be “a night with a difference.”
“It’s got so much heart and soul and charisma,” he told the Standard. “It’s about highlighting singing as a behaviour rather than this industrial chase for fame or chart success. For millennia, music was something everyone did to express joy, sadness and community, not a competition.”
Over the past two months, Ryder and Faith have travelled to Edinburgh, London, Liverpool and Birmingham, uncovering performers whose songs are rooted in lived experience rather than commercial ambition. Together, the mentors selected one standout act from every city to perform at the Hackney Empire finale, a night of storytelling and song that will be filmed for Channel 4 and that anyone who buys a ticket for can attend.
“Yes, some of them can sing better than others, for sure,” Ryder said. “But that’s not the purpose of the show. We already have programmes with incredible vocalists chasing the same dream, a chart hit or a record deal. What I’d argue is that we’ve had that, and the music industry just isn’t in that space anymore.
“Having a record deal is no measure of success now. Plenty of people doing amazingly around the world don’t have one. To use that as the carrot to make people compete isn’t what I want to be aligned with.”
For Ryder, emotional honesty always trumps perfection.
“You can have a less than perfect voice and still tell the most moving story,” he said. “Look at Bob Dylan — he’s not Whitney Houston, but his truth hits you harder than perfection ever could.”
It’s a philosophy he has lived himself. Ryder didn’t get his big break until his thirties, years after performing in small venues and uploading covers online while working in construction. His rise came not from a label or a TV deal but through connecting directly with audiences — something he’s now paying forward through Your Song.
“My granddad always told me, ‘Plough your own furrow,’” he says. “Focus on what’s in your control and don’t get distracted by what isn’t.”
It’s advice he’s come to live by.
“Your path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s for it to be a success,” he adds. “For ages, I tried to make my career look like everyone else’s, but it never brought me peace. Now I’m embracing the fact that my route’s different — and that’s okay.”
That approach has served him well. He recently independently released his second album Heartland, and Ryder’s upcoming Road to Wembley tour will see him headline the OVO Arena Wembley on November 6.
The Better Man singer praised Hammond and Faith for the compassion they bring to the process.
“If I was about to sing in front of strangers and Alison gave me one of her hugs, I’d feel pretty confident walking on stage,” he laughed.
He says mentoring on Your Song has reaffirmed his belief that connection, not competition, is what matters most.
“I defy anyone watching when it comes out next spring not to have tears in their eyes,” he said. “Even I did — and that doesn’t happen often.”
Your Song will air on Channel 4 next spring. Tickets for the Hackney Empire concert finale on October 24 at 7 pm are available now via the Hackney Empire box office.
