Ed Sheeran
Biography
Edward Christopher Sheeran, known as Ed Sheeran, is an English singer-songwriter born on 17 February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
He grew up in Framlingham, Suffolk, and began writing songs at around the age of eleven.
His professional career took off in 2011 with the independent release of the EP “No. 5 Collaborations Project”, followed by his signing with Asylum Records.
His debut studio album, “+” (pronounced “Plus”), was released in September 2011 and reached number one on the UK chart, driven by the hit single The A Team.
In 2012, he won two Brit Awards: Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.
His second album, “×” (“Multiply”), released in June 2014, topped charts worldwide and was the second best-selling album globally in 2015.
It earned Sheeran the Brit Award for Album of the Year and the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year.
The single Thinking Out Loud won two Grammy Awards in 2016: Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
His third album, “÷” (“Divide”), released in March 2017, became the world’s best-selling album that year.
The singles Shape of You and Castle on the Hill debuted at numbers one and two in many countries.
Ed Sheeran thus became the first artist to place two songs in the US top 10 in the same week.
The single Perfect reached number one in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, becoming the UK Christmas number one in 2017.
He was named Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2017.
His fourth album, “No.6 Collaborations Project” (2019), a collaborative project, debuted at number one in most major markets.
It included the UK number-one singles I Don't Care, Beautiful People, and Take Me Back to London.
His discography later expanded with “=” (“Equals”) in 2021, “−” (“Subtract”) in May 2023, and “Autumn Variations” in September 2023, the latter released on his own label, Gingerbread Man Records.
His eighth studio album, “Play”, was released on 12 September 2025.
Ed Sheeran has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
In the United States, he has 119 million RIAA-certified units, and two of his albums are among the best-selling in the history of the UK chart.
In December 2019, the Official Charts Company named him artist of the decade for his combined album and single success in the UK in the 2010s.
As of July 2024, he is the third most-followed artist on Spotify.
His tours are among the highest-attended in the world, with the “÷ Tour” becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time in August 2019.
A former member of the National Youth Theatre, he appeared as himself in the film “Yesterday” in 2019.
In 2025, Time magazine included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
He is the son of John Sheeran and the brother of Matt Sheeran.