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| Ed Sheeran released '+' (Plus) in England in 2011, and in the U.S. in 2012 |
In the last few days, Philadelphia audiences got to see folksy singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran up close with Sunday’s sold-out concert at Spring Garden Street’s Festival Pier (moved there from the TLA when the show sold out in minutes), and yesterday's appearance on Fox 29's Good Day Philadelphia morning show with host Mike Jerrick.
To British audiences, Sheeran has been a household name since 2010 following the release of his Loose Change EP and its dreamy hit, "The A Team". Sheeran then made his major label debut in England in 2011 with the chart topping "+" (pronounced "Plus") on Elektra Records. Plus was released in the United States in June 2012 and immediately jumped into the SoundScan/Billboard album chart’s Top 200 at #5, the highest debut for a U.K. solo artist since 2009.
What makes Sheeran so popular?
His is the sound of youthful yearning and kid stuff. Sheeran writes songs about computer games, Shrek, and couch surfing in a voice that sounds like Damien Rice. Sheeran’s twee and tender love songs like "Kiss Me" are happily age-appropriate (he’s 21). What gets you about Sheeran’s effortless and catchy tunes is that there’s an old soul at the heart of everything he does. Songs such as "Grade 8" and "The City" have a new jack swing feel and contagious choruses.
Stripped down from its recorded form during a solo acoustic performance on Good Day Philadelphia, Sheeran allowed the heartbreak at the center of "The A Team" to waft through to the show's live audience. The greatest display of his old soul was to his largest-ever audience at the finale of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London when he joined Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford on stage to sing a shimmering version of Floyd's “Wish You Were Here.” If the Olympic committee awarded medals for such musical feats, Ed Sheeran would have surely garnished the gold.
Video ©WTXF FOX Good Day Philadelphia 2012
Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 11:55 AM
