About Ed Sheeran

Sheeran's "Sing" hits the top of the charts (Updated 06/12/2014)

It's been years in the making for Ed Sheeran to secure his very first number one single, and the time has finally come.

Sheeran's "Sing" pushed its way to the pinnacle of the UK Top 40 singles chart on June 8, saying ahead of Sam Smith's "Stay With Me," and Secondcity's "I Wanna Feel," which dropped two places to round out the Top 3. It marks Sheeran's most successful song to date after a dozen runs at the chart. Sheeran's "Sing" is the first single from his forthcoming second album, and moved 124,000 copies in its first week. In fact, the Pharrell-Williams produced track managed to land 17 places higher than "One," the lead single from the upcoming LP, "X," which is due to drop on June 23.

It's a busy time for Sheeran, who most recently debuted another new song, "Don't," in the new Beats by Dre commercial. According to Billboard, the track is about a former love who cheated with a close friend. It was produced by the somewhat unlikely team of Ruck Rubin and Benny Blanco, and was initially set to be the first single on Sheeran's upcoming album.

Sheeran will hit the road in support of "X" with a tour that kicks off in August. The trek will start at the Wamu Theater in Seattle, Washington on August 21 and wrap at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on September 19. Notable stops along the way include gigs at the The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan (Las Vegas), the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Ed Sheeran is seeing 'Red' (Created July 26, 2013)

Ed Sheeran is living the high life. The English singer-songwriter with the wild ginger mop top continues to ride the wave of success since his move to London in 2008 to play gigs for as few as five people. The following year he had 312 dates on his calendar. And this year? He's seeing Red.

Sheeran not only learned guitar at a very young age, he was writing songs while still attending high school. By 2005, at the age of just 14, Sheeran recorded and his released his very first EP, "The Orange Room." Four years later came "You Need Me," which dropped just as Sheeran was heading out on tour with Just Jack. Other projects, like a collaboration with Essex singer-songwriter Leddra Chapman (on Cee Lo Green's F*ck You) also helped to put him on the map.

But how did Sheeran really become famous? It was thanks, in large part, to an open mic night he played in April 2010. Spotted at The Foxxhole by none other than Jamie Foxx, he was given blanket use of Foxx's recording studio and the run of his Hollywood home. Suddenly, Sheeran's fan-base exploded, his YouTube videos garnering tens of thousands of views. By 2011, he released his final independent EP, "No. 5 Collaborations Project," and had broken through into the mainstream.

It was April 2011 when "The A Team" was chosen as lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album. It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 3, and the full-length LP "+" came in at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. It becamse the second best-selling debut album and ninth biggest-selling album of 2011 in the UK, and has already been certified platinum.

One would think that earning Brit Awards as the Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough of the Year would've been the feather in Sheeran's cap. And it probably was, until he received a call from global superstar Taylor Swift. He later co-wrote and provided vocals on "Everything Has Changed" for her fourth album "Red."

Sheeran (you guessed it) is currently playing 64 dates at arenas and stadium across North America as the opening act for Swift's Red Tour from March to September 2013. He's also writing and recording his second album while on tour. It's slated for release in February 2014.