Ed Sheeran

Edward Christopher Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter born on 17 February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk. Known for his extensive global chart success, Sheeran has sold 200 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including Brit Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Ivor Novello Award, and was named the Official Charts Company's artist of the decade for the 2010s.

Sheeran was raised in Framlingham, where he attended Brandeston Hall preparatory school and Thomas Mills High School. His father worked as an art curator and lecturer, while his mother worked as a culture publicist turned jewellery designer. Sheeran developed an early interest in music, joining a local church choir at age four, playing the cello, and learning the guitar at eleven, when he also began writing songs. As a teenager, he joined the National Youth Theatre in London and performed with Youth Music Theatre UK. He later studied Artist Development at Access to Music and briefly attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford.

Sheeran began recording music in 2004 and independently released his first collection, Spinning Man, at age thirteen. After moving to London in 2008, he played at small venues, worked as a guitar technician, opened for Nizlopi, and released independent EPs including You Need Me and Loose Change. In early 2011, he independently released the EP No.5 Collaborations Project, featuring grime artists such as Wiley and Jme. The EP reached number two on the iTunes chart without label promotion, leading to mainstream attention and a record deal with Asylum Records in April 2011.

In September 2011, Sheeran released his debut studio album, + ("Plus"), which topped the UK Albums Chart and featured his breakout single, "The A Team". The single became a global hit, winning an Ivor Novello Award and receiving a Grammy nomination. The album produced additional UK top-ten singles, including "You Need Me, I Don't Need You", "Lego House", and "Drunk". During this era, Sheeran won Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act, co-wrote music for One Direction, collaborated with Taylor Swift, and opened for Swift's North American tour in 2013.

His second album, × ("Multiply"), was released in June 2014 and topped charts worldwide, including the UK Albums Chart and US Billboard 200. Featuring singles such as "Sing" and "Thinking Out Loud", × became the second-best-selling album globally in 2015 and won Album of the Year at the 2015 Brit Awards. In 2016, "Thinking Out Loud" earned Sheeran Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. He supported the album with an extensive world tour, including three sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Sheeran's third album, ÷ ("Divide"), was released in March 2017 and became the year's best-selling album worldwide. Driven by singles such as "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill", and "Perfect", the release set multiple chart records, and Sheeran was named Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2017. The accompanying ÷ Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time in August 2019.

Sheeran continued his commercial releases with No.6 Collaborations Project in 2019, = ("Equals") in 2021, − ("Subtract") in 2023, Autumn Variations in 2023 under his label Gingerbread Man Records, and Play in 2025. Beyond his music career, Sheeran played himself in the 2019 film Yesterday and was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2025.