Ed Sheeran

Edward Christopher “Ed” Sheeran is a British singer-songwriter, among the most popular of the new millennium. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, on 17 February 1991, he soon moved to Framlingham, in Suffolk. He learned to play guitar at a young age and started writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham. He studied at Access To Music in Norwich before moving to London.

Sheeran began recording in 2005, with the release of his first EP, “The Orange Room Ep”. He also released two albums, a self-titled one in 2006 and “Want Some?” in 2007, though he remained largely under the radar. From 2010 onwards, his popularity grew considerably, helped along by the views racked up by his videos on YouTube.

Sheeran released three EPs in 2010, “Loose Change”, which features one of his best-known songs, “The A Team”, “Songs I Wrote With Amy” and “Ed Sheeran: Live At The Bedford”, a live EP recorded in October. During the year, Sheeran also travelled to the United States, where he was discovered by international superstar Jamie Foxx, who invited him to perform on his radio show, winning him new fans in the States as well.

On January 9, 2011, Sheeran released his final independent EP, "No.5 Collaborations Project", featuring grime artists including Wiley, JME, Devlin and Ghetts, which reached number 2 on the iTunes chart without any promotion or label backing.

After signing to Atlantic Records in January 2011, "The A Team" was released as the lead single from his debut album "+", which came out on June 12, 2011. The record was certified 6x platinum in the UK and earned the singer-songwriter two Brit Awards, for British Breakthrough Act and Best British Male Solo Artist. At the 56th Grammy Awards, Sheeran received a Best New Artist nomination.

He gained further fame by contributing the song "I See Fire" to Howard Shore's soundtrack for the 2013 film "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".

"x", Sheeran's second studio album, was released in 2015 and shot straight to number one in both the UK and the US, propelled by 5 singles ("Sing", "Don't", "Thinking Out Loud", "Bloodstream" and "Photograph").

Once the album's promotional tour was over, Ed announced a sabbatical period to rest and write new music; the new record "÷" (named after the mathematical division symbol) arrived in March 2017, followed by a world tour.

In January 2017, he released two singles from the album, "Shape Of You" and "Castle On The Hill", which debuted at No. 1 and No. 6 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.

On June 25, 2021, he released the single "Bad Habits", the first taste of his seventh album "=", due out the following October 29, which topped the charts in 35 countries around the world, including the UK's Official Singles Chart, while in the US it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

On May 5, 2023, Sheeran returned to the music scene with his eighth album "-", preceded by the singles "Eyes Closed" and "Boat". For its making, the artist enlisted the collaboration of Aaron Dessner of The National.

"Play", released in 2025, presents itself as the start of a five-album cycle and as a fresh new beginning in the British popstar's career.