Ed Sheeran Biography

England’s Ed Sheeran rocketed to stardom on the strength of hit singles such as the 2017 smash “Shape of You” and the 2014 Grammy-winner “Thinking Out Loud.”

A singer and songwriter who dropped out of high school to pursue his dream, Ed Sheeran began recording in 2005, and in 2008 moved to London to try for stardom. It worked out. A prolific songwriter with a penchant for R&B-influenced pop and sentimental ballads, he had his first hit with “The A Team,” which was nominated for a Grammy as song of the year, and his first album — titled + (yes, just the mathematical plus symbol) — went to the top of the charts in the U.K. and the U.S. His second album, x, won 2014’s Brit Award for album of the year, and was nominated for a 2015 Grammy as album of the year. He released a third album, ÷, in 2017.

Redheaded and boyish, Ed Sheeran has also shown a facility for having celebrity friends, from Elton John and Jamie Foxx to Pharrell Williams and Taylor Swift. Sheeran has written songs for his off-stage friend Swift, as well as for One Direction and Christina Aguilera.

His 2017 single “Shape of You” (from ÷) peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 2017 — and that same December, his duet with Beyonce, “Perfect,” also hit #1. His other songs include “Don’t,” “Bloodstream” and “Sing.”