Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk. One of the most commercially successful solo artists in the history of popular music, he has broken streaming and sales records across multiple albums while maintaining a Reputation as a craftsman of hook-driven, emotionally relatable songs that draw on folk, POP, hip-hop, and R&B. Having busked extensively and released independent EPs from his mid-teens, he built a grassroots following before signing to Atlantic Records. Debut album *+* (Plus, 2011) introduced his acoustic guitar-and-loop-pedal approach and produced 'The A Team' — a quiet portrait of a homeless young woman that showcased his storytelling ability — as well as 'Drunk' and 'Lego House.' Its success established him as Britain's foremost acoustic-pop storyteller. *×* (Multiply, 2014) broadened his commercial reach dramatically, featuring the global smash 'Thinking Out Loud' — a vintage soul ballad that became a wedding song ubiquitous in its era — and 'Sing,' produced by Pharrell Williams. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2016. *÷* (Divide, 2017) broke streaming records and contained 'Shape of You,' which became one of the most-streamed songs in Spotify history, and 'Castle on the Hill,' a nostalgic anthem about his Suffolk childhood. *No. 6 Collaborations Project* (2019) was an explicit exploration of diverse pop genres through duets with artists from Justin Bieber to Cardi B. *= * (Equals, 2021) and *–* (Subtract, 2023) — the latter an emotionally raw folk-acoustic record made during his wife's cancer diagnosis and a close friend's death — showed continued personal depth. Sheeran's commercial dominance, sustained across more than a decade, is built on a formula of melodic precision, emotional directness, and tireless touring that has made him one of the most beloved live acts in the world.