Sam Ryder once sang ‘Reach’ by S Club 7 at his school assembly.
The 2022 ‘Eurovision’ runner-up – who first grew a following on TikTok with his cover videos before shooting to fame with his mega-hit ‘Space Man’ in the song contest – has confessed that his guilty pleasure is the noughties pop group.
He told Classic Rock magazine: “I was listening to S Club 7 the other day.
“I remember singing ‘Reach’ in the school assembly once as well.
“So I guess you could say they are my guilty pleasure.
“But not really that guilty – the song’s wicked!”
Sam went on to perform at the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee last summer, before performing with Queen at the Taylor Hawkins tribute.
The 33-year-old power vocalist has always admired Queen’s late frontman Freddie Mercury – who died in 1991, aged 45, due to complications from AIDS – for not being afraid to perform even if his voice was breaking as it showed raw emotion.
He told the publication: “He had everything. Even on the rare occasions when his voice was going, he had the courage to push through it.
“And that’s so cool.
“Because the age we live in everything’s so … kind of pruned, and we only share our best moments.
“And Freddie, his whole career was the best moment, in my opinion.
“As a singer, you can also find comfort knowing that he wasn’t afraid to go for it and have his voice break in front of a crowd, because there was passion there.”