Ed Sheeran named the world’s best-selling artist

Ed Sheeran is like the Little Engine that Could.

You know how the kiddies’ story goes, “I think I can, I think I can.” That tale of ambition, determination and self-confidence, and this British singer-songwriter’s rise to fame are one in the same.

Armed only with his guitar and a loop pedal, the one-man show set out on his own and unexpectedly conquered the world.

Ed has established himself as one of the planet’s biggest musical acts and was just named the world’s best-selling recording artist of 2017 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

The IFPI, the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide, reports that Ed’s third studio album ÷ is the global best-selling album of last year and has been certified multi-platinum in 36 countries. 

But that’s not all. The album’s lead single, “Shape of You,” is the world’s best-selling song of 2017 and has earned multi-platinum status in 32 countries. 

This is the first time that the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year has had both the best-selling album and the best-selling single of the year and the boy wonder achieved it all on his own.

From the start Ed believed in himself even when his record label didn’t think global domination was possible alone.

“When I signed a record deal they said you should get a band,” Ed says looking back at his 2011 beginnings.

“By the time the first gig came around, I didn’t get a band. I just did it with a loop station.”

A second show was booked, followed by a third and soon after, a full tour was underway.

Ed’s solo approach, in which he layers vocals and guitar bits creating a full “digital band,” was met with such massive applause that he continued on and made no change to his winning formula.

“The response was great, so I kept going and I never got a band,” he says.

The thought of giving in and hiring helping hands has crossed Ed’s mind though, but the Brit continues to choose authenticity and artistic integrity over compromise, all the while listening to his public and their feedback.

“Every time I feel like evolving into a band, it feels like no one really wants to see that because every other singer-songwriter that we see has a band,” he says.

Ed, his guitar and that little loop pedal have been touring the planet and performing in stadiums packed to capacity ever since. All a rare and unusual happening and he knows it.

“Even though a loop pedal is quite a weird thing to see in an arena setting, if I’m the only person that does it, it’s a unique selling point, and if I can do it well, then that works. The moment I stop doing it well, is the moment I’ll stop, but I think people enjoy it.”

Enjoy it? People love it. The world is eating it up like they have an insatiable hunger burning in their bellies.

Just look at the turn out at Ed’s run at Wembley Stadium in July of 2015. Ed sold out London’s historic venue for three consecutive nights and performed to more than 240,000 fans over the three concerts.

Ed’s sensational live shows like those in London and the first concerts he ever organized are now poles apart.

“I did a gig over the road from my house when I was 13,” Ed remembers of his very first show. “It was three pounds a ticket and four people turned up. Two of them were my parents. It was a really awkward gig,” he laughs.

Fast forward to 2018. The 27-year-old is once again performing for masses of fans in sold-out arenas around the planet.

Ed is currently on his third international concert tour, The ÷ Tour which comes around again to North America later this summer. The US leg kicks off in Pasadena, California on August 18 before ending three months later in Atlanta, Georgia.

Canadian fans will have to flock to Toronto, as Ed’s only Canadian dates left are two gigs in the cosmopolitan.

The tour is of course in support of Ed’s record-breaking album that earned him the title of world’s best-selling artist of 2017.

That same album won the superstar two Grammy Awards earlier this year and is now nominated for 5 iHeartRadio Music Awards and the 2018 JUNO Award for International Album of the Year.

These are just a few of the many achievements, accolades and awards that Ed has picked up since his humble start, and he accomplished it all without giving in and modifying a single thing about himself.

“The thing that I want to do is evolve as a musician in time,” Ed says. “Not change what people like about me.”

Ed is nominated for International Album of the Year at the 2018 JUNO Awards airing Sunday, March 25 on CBC. See a complete list of this year’s nominees here.

Ed is set to perform at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Thursday, August  30 and Friday, August 31. More tour dates below. Ed’s record breaking album ÷ is available on iTunes here. Follow the star on twitter and facebook for updates.

The ÷ Tour (North American dates):

August 18 – Pasadena, CA – Rose Bowl Stadium
August 21 – San Fransisco, CA – AT&T Park
August 25 – Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field
August 30 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
August 31 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
September 06 – St. Louis, MO – Busch Stadium
September 08 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
September 14 – Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium
September 15 – Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium
September 21 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
September 22 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
September 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
September 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – PNC Park
October 04 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
October 06 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
October 13 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium
October 17 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome
October 20 – Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium
October 23 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller Park
October 27 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium
October 31 – New Orleans, LA – Mercedes-Benz Superdome
November 03 – Houston, TX – Minute Maid Park
November 07 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
November 10 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Posted by Marc Andrew on Mar 6 2018. Filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.