Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is a British singer-songwriter who is currently signed to Asylum / Atlantic Record. Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart single. Wikipedia
Music career
Early years Sheeran began recording in 2005, which led to the release of his first EP, The Orange Room EP . Sheeran also released 2 albums, a self-titled one in 2006 and Want Some? in 2007. He moved to London in 2008 to play gigs, starting off in very small venues, playing every day, to as little as five people. In 2008, he auditioned for the ITV series Britannia High . In 2009, Sheeran played 312 gigs. He said that he read an interview with James Morrison that said that Morrison had done 200 gigs in a year, and Sheeran wanted to beat him on this number. Also in 2009, he released another EP, You Need Me , just before going on tour with Just Jack. He also did a few collaborations with Leddra Chapman, including Cee Lo Green’s F**k You. In February 2010 Sheeran posted a video through SB.TV, which led to mainstream rapper Example asking Sheeran to tour with him. Also in February 2010 he released his critically acclaimed Loose Change EP, which featured his later debut single "The A Team". In April 2010, after leaving his old management company, Sheeran bought a ticket to Los Angeles, with no contacts other than one poetry night. He played open mic nights all over the city, before his talent was spotted at The Foxxhole by Jamie Foxx, who was so impressed that he offered Sheeran the use of his recording studio and the run of his Hollywood home for the rest of his stay. Throughout 2010, Sheeran began to be seen by more people over the internet through YouTube and his fan-base grew, with him also getting credit from The Independent newspaper , England football captain Rio Ferdinand and Elton John. Sheeran also self-released two other EPs in 2010; Ed Sheeran: Live at the Bedford and Songs I Wrote With Amy , which is a collection of love songs he wrote in Wales with fellow singer songwriter Amy Wadge . Wikipedia
2011–present On 8 January 2011, Sheeran released his final independent EP, No.5 Collaborations Project featuring appearances by grime artists including Wiley, JME, Devlin, Sway and Ghetts . With this EP, Sheeran gained mainstream attention for reaching number 2 in the iTunes chart without any promotion or label, selling over 7,000 copies in its first week. Three months later, Sheeran put on a free show to fans at the Barfly in Camden. Over 1,000 fans turned up to see the show, so Sheeran ended up playing four different shows to make sure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed. Later that month, Sheeran was signed to Asylum/ Atlantic Records. On 26 April, Sheeran appeared on the TV music show Later... with Jools Holland – where he performed his debut single "The A Team". Six weeks later, "The A Team" was released as a digital download in the UK. The release served as the lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album, entitled which was released through Atlantic Records on 12 September 2011. "The A Team" entered the UK chart at number 3, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was congratulated on being the highest-selling and highest-charting debut single of 2011. During a headline set in the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury Festival 2011, Sheeran announced that "You Need Me" would be released on 28 August as the second single from the album. Sheeran also performed at the Festival Republic Stage during the Reading festival, performed live alongside Mikill Pane and Wretch 32 at Bestival , and performed on the main stage of the 2011 Jersey Live festival. On 11 November 2011, the song "Lego House" was released as the third single lifted from the debut studio album. The song has so far peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The video for "Lego House" was released on 20 October 2011 on Sheeran's YouTube channel. It stars Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint . Wikipedia