Anyone who knows me is aware of my obsession with Ed Sheeran. I’ve been following his music for about four years, since 2013ish, and even saw him live in the summer of 2015. In honor of the release of his third studio album titled ÷, I threw together this list of the top 20 reasons why everyone should love Ed.
1) His songs are so relatable, it’s crazy.
No matter who you are or where you are in your life, there is an Ed Sheeran song out there that you will relate to on a personal level. Whether it be one from his first album like “Small Bump” which is about a miscarriage, one from the next album like “Afire Love” which is about a dying family member, or some off the newest album like “Happier” which is about a regretful breakup or “Castle on the Hill” which is all about nostalgia. He has a song for every life event you could ever go through.
2) He’s adorable.
Need I say more? I mean, look at him!
3) He writes the best love songs in the world.
There is no doubt that Ed is most widely known for his romantic ballads. If someone were to really listen to the lyrics of one of these songs, they would find beautifully worded phrases and amazing love stories, setting the bar pretty high for any other guy in the world.
4) He’s awkward.
Although he’s been in the spotlight for a number of years now, Ed still has his moments of cute awkwardness. It’s always fun to watch him on TV shows or in videos and notice his small awkward moments.
5) He takes criticism and hate in the best way possible.
In 2012, Ed was named the worst dressed male by GQ Magazine. Instead of letting this discourage him, he looked at it with humor and tweeted “glad they noticed.” Later he mentioned the “award” in his song “Take It Back” saying, “and I accept the fact that someone has to win worst-dressed/taking my first steps into the scene/ giving me focus.” Throughout the years, Ed has maintained his signature casual look, even going as far as wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans while performing on huge award shows like the Grammy’s. He really could care less about what anyone thinks of him.
6) He’s sarcastic.
If you follow Ed on twitter or watch his interviews, you know that he can come up with some sassy and witty comebacks. At one point in his career, Ed responded to some comments about a new tattoo that he got (I believe it was the giant lion’s head on his chest) by tweeting, “It’s not the first weird tattoo I’ve got and it won’t be the last, but I like all of them. I’m also eating a bowl of pasta now so byeziez.” I love him so much…
7) He drinks A LOT.
I mean, is there anything more relatable than a guy who likes to party and drink? Back in 2014, Ed lost a ton of weight (about 35 pounds in 3 months) “just from not drinking beer.” When the interviewer asked him if that was difficult for him to do, Ed responded with, “Not really, I just replace it with vodka.” What a man.
8) That accent!
I feel like his songs are automatically made ten times better because of his beautiful British accent. He's also got a pretty soothing speaking voice.
9) He’s a philanthropist.
Ed is no stranger to giving back to those in need. He often uses his fame to raise money for charities, like the time he performed in Bristol and raised £40,000 to end street sex working. This is equivalent to $42,432!
10) He names his guitars.
I find this so funny and absolutely amazing. It’s also such an Ed thing to do. Four of his original guitars are named Lloyd, Felix, Cyril, and Nigel.
11) His tattoos.
Ed is also very well known for his many tattoos. All of them have a meaning, but they're also very different. Some relate to his songs, some relate to big events in his life, and others are just things he likes (i.e. a bottle of ketchup.)
12) Any one of his songs can be great dance music.
No matter what the occasion, you can have a dance party to Ed’s music. Some of his songs can be great for fast moving, like “Shape of You” off his new album, which I have already heard played at a few school dancing events. A number of his songs can also be great for slow dancing! My high school played “Thinking Out Loud” at the semi-formal and the junior prom during my junior year, as well as at the junior prom and senior ball when I was a senior! You can never go wrong with a good Ed song to make high school couples dance!
13) He loves food.
Get you a man that can eat just as much as you. Ed can definitely do that! He apparently holds a Nando’s black card, which I have absolutely no idea what that is, seeing as I don’t have a Nando’s anywhere near me. *sad face*
14) He has a mild form of synesthesia.
For those of you that are not familiar with this phenomenon, synesthesia is a condition in which people's brains mix two or more senses. For example, many people with this literally see specific numbers in a specific color. Something similar often happens with musicians and they see certain notes, chords, or songs as a specific color. Pharrell Williams is also a very well-known synethete. Ed has said in an interview before that he often sees his music in colors. He stated, “all my songs have colors...’You Need Me I Don't Need You’ for example is 'aubergine.' It's a sad song about struggling."
15) He’s a cat person.
Although I‘m more of a dog gal myself, seeing Ed with cats is the cutest thing ever. His music video for “Drunk” is all about him and his cat getting drunk, going out to the bar, and then partying. It’s weird, but awesome. Ed has owned many cats in the past, and still owns a few now, I believe.
16) He runs on almost no sleep when touring.
If this isn’t a sign of dedication, I don’t know what is. I recently watched a video interview with Ed where he talked about his life on tour. He revealed that he got little to no sleep most nights, but still played all of his shows flawlessly. He believed the lack of sleep made his shows better, the adrenaline rush carrying him through the performances. Interesting technique, but his fans appreciate him putting on the best show possible!
17) His music videos are amazing.
My personal favorite video of Ed’s is “Lego House,” mainly because I’m an avid Harry Potter fan so seeing Rupert Grint portray a die-hard Ed fan literally made my life. The video also intrigues me because of the story-line. The beginning of the video is made out to seem like Rupert is playing a perhaps younger version of Ed, but there’s always that mystery of something else going on. Eventually it is revealed that he’s not Ed at all, just an obsessed fan. As a writer I really love the story of the video and the way it was shot. Rupert was the perfect person to play that part and I love Ed all the more for choosing him to be in that video. Ed has also done many other amazing music videos, many of which don’t even feature him. They all have an intense story-line with an important message. The video for “You Need Me I Don’t Need You” even features a young man signing the lyrics, which is something very unique and cool in my opinion!
18) All of his albums titles.
Although Ed only has three official albums, they are all related to each other. The first one is called +, the second is called X, and the most recent one is ÷. I think this is such a cool concept to keep all of his titles a simple mathematical symbol. A part of me can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever break away from this trend, or what he’ll do if he ever runs out of symbols!
19) He either makes you want to fall in love or cry for a few days.
Like I mentioned before, Ed has music for every occasion. That being said, most of the songs will either make you feel really happy and hopeful, or want to lay in your bed and eat an entire carton of ice cream. It really depends on the song and the day. Trust me.
20) He is insanely talented.
If you’ve ever seen Ed perform live you can vouch for this—the man is gifted. His music is great when you listen to it on the studio album, but somehow he manages to make it ten times better when he performs it live, with only him on the stage. The things he can do with only a guitar, a loop pedal, and his voice are incredible. If you’ve never seen Ed Sheeran live I would highly recommend doing so—it will be money well spent.
So there you have it; 20 things I love about Ed Sheeran and reasons you should love him too. His new album dropped on March 3rd, so make sure to go check that out! You can buy it on iTunes here. Every song on this album is amazing and it features his classic dance songs as well as his gorgeous love songs.
You will love it! My favorite songs so far are “Happier,” “Eraser,” and “Barcelona.”
Leave me a comment telling me your favorite song!
