Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran has emerged as the U.K.’s undisputed king of the streaming era in a musical landscape transformed by the digital age.
As the Official U.K. Charts mark a decade since embracing the streaming revolution, the ginger-haired troubadour from Suffolk, England stands tall atop a mountain of megahits and record-breaking achievements.
It’s hard to believe that just ten years ago, in July 2014, the U.K. charts took their first tentative steps into the world of streaming. Ariana Grande’s “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea claimed the historic first No. 1 spot in this new era, setting the stage for a decade of the format’s dominance.
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But it’s Sheeran who’s truly stolen the show. His 2017 album Divide didn’t just break records – it shattered them. With a staggering 4.26 million chart units and the title of the most-streamed album of all time in the U.K., Sheeran’s musical juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down.
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And let’s talk about “Shape of You.” This earworm has burrowed its way into the nation’s collective consciousness, racking up a mind-boggling 6.29 million chart units and over 627 million streams.
It’s officially the biggest song of the streaming era, proving that Sheeran’s shape is the one we all want to be in.
But the streaming revolution isn’t just about one man. It’s transformed the very fabric of the music industry, opening up a world of unlimited choice for music lovers. Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, puts it perfectly:
“We are delighted to be celebrating this exciting landmark for the Official Charts, 10 years since the way we measured music fandom changed forever. It feels like only yesterday that streams were ushered into the Official Singles Chart for the first time – and yet we seem to have enjoyed access to every track in music history, instantly, delivered like water through a digital pipe, for a lifetime.”
From Adele’s record-breaking 24 million streams in a single week for “Easy On Me” to the surprising dominance of “Baby Shark” in video streams, the past decade has been a wild ride.
We’ve seen Meghan Trainor make history with the first streaming-only U.K. top 40 hit, and watched as total U.K. audio streams surpassed the trillion mark.
As we raise a glass (or perhaps a pair of headphones) to ten years of streaming, one thing is clear: the way we consume music may have changed, but our love for it is stronger than ever. Here’s to another decade of chart-topping hits, unexpected viral sensations, and the thrill of discovering your next favorite song with just a click.
And to Ed Sheeran? Well, as Talbot says, “What a decade it has been for the Suffolk-raised superstar. Congratulations Ed!”
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari’s marriage is headed for divorce, Ed Sheeran explains why he doesn’t see himself doing the Super Bowl halftime show anytime soon, Armani White talks about performing with Billie Eilish, Becky G drops a new song and Gonza clothing line perfect for summer, we take a look back at the songs […]
These six radio mainstays have all earned iHeartRadio Titanium Awards for their songs that reached 1 billion spins across iHeart stations in 2022, Billboard can exclusively reveal. iHeartMedia revealed the Titanium Award-winning songs on Tuesday (June 20), including Doja Cat‘s “Woman,” Ed Sheeran‘s “Shivers,” Jack Harlow‘s “First Class,” Latto‘s “Big Energy” and Wizkid and Tems‘ “Essence.” Sheeran was honored with his award while visiting iHeartRadio in New York recently. “Wowzas,” the 32-year-old […]
Ed Sheeran is on a legal winning streak.
Less than two weeks after the star singer won a blockbuster trial over whether his “Thinking Out Loud” infringed Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” a federal judge has dismissed a second, closely-related copyright case accusing him of copying the same iconic song.
U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton had ruled last fall that Sheeran would need to face a jury trial in the second case, just like he did in last month’s showdown in Manhattan federal court. But on Tuesday (May 16), the judge issued a surprise decision reversing himself and dismissing the case without a trial.
The reason? The judge said he could rule himself, without the help of a jury, that the combination of simple elements that Sheeran allegedly stole (a chord progression combined with a harmonic rhythm) was not unique enough to be covered by copyright law in the first place.
“It is an unassailable reality that the chord progression and harmonic rhythm in ‘Let’s Get It On’ are so commonplace, in isolation and in combination, that to protect their combination would give ‘Let’s Get It On’ an impermissible monopoly over a basic musical building block,” Judge Stanton wrote, echoing the arguments that Sheeran’s attorneys made throughout last month’s trial.
Sheeran has spent years defending himself over “Thinking Out Loud.” Though the song was a commercial and critical success — it hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 before winning a Grammy award for song of the year — critics and the public quickly noticed similarities with “Let’s Get It On,” with one reviewer calling it an “incredibly obvious successor” to Gaye’s famed slow jam.
Sheeran was first sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye. It was that long-running case that last month culminated in a high-profile trial in Lower Manhattan, which featured passionate arguments from both sides and saw the singer himself playing the guitar from the witness stand. On May 4, the jurors returned a verdict that Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge had not infringed the earlier song, clearing the star of millions of dollars in potential damages.
But even following that verdict, Sheeran was still facing another case filed by Structured Asset Sales, an entity owned by industry executive David Pullman that owns a separate one-third stake in Townsend’s copyrights. Last October, Judge Stanton ruled in that case that the pop star would need to face a jury of his peers. The judge said there was “no bright-line rule” for deciding whether Gaye’s selection and arrangement of common musical elements were creative enough to warrant copyright protection.
But on Tuesday, less than two weeks after the big verdict in the other case, Judge Stanton made the rare legal decision to “reconsider” his own ruling to send the case to trial.
Among other things, the judge cited the fact that the same combination of chords and harmonic rhythm had appeared in at least four other songs before “Let’s Get It On” was even released, including “Get Off Of My Cloud” by The Rolling Stones and “Georgy Girl” by The Seekers.
“Multiple songwriters have combined the two commonplace elements in the same manner for years,” Judge Stanton wrote. “If their combination were protected and not freely available to songwriters, the goal of copyright law … would be thwarted.”
The judge also cited a recent ruling that dismissed a case against Donald Glover over the Childish Gambino song “This Is America” on similar legal grounds, suggesting that the decision had changed the case law on how federal courts assess such combinations of unprotectable elements.
“To prevent manifest injustice, defendants’ motion for reconsideration is granted,” Judge Stanton wrote. “The Clerk of the Court is directed to close the case.”
In a statement to Billboard following the ruling, Sheeran’s lead attorney Donald S. Zakarin said his team and his client were “truly pleased” with the outcome: “Judge Stanton concluded that Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge did not infringe, a conclusion consistent with the jury determination that Ed and Amy independently created Thinking Out Loud. This is an important victory not only for Ed and Amy and all songwriters but also for the music loving public.”
Though Tuesday’s ruling is a key victory for the pop star, it’s not the end of the road for the “Thinking Out Loud” litigation. Both the verdict earlier this month and the new ruling can still be appealed, which could take years to resolve. And Structured Asset Sales is also pursuing a third, more novel case based on a different copyright covering Gaye’s more famous recorded version of the song.
In an interview with Billboard following the ruling, Pullman said his company would appeal Tuesday’s decision on multiple grounds. And he stressed that he would continue to litigate the third case, which has been paused while the other cases played out.
“In the new case, in front of a different judge, we have the sound recording in that case,” Pullman said. “Through all these years of litigation, the one thing the defendants have been petrified of is the sound recording. They don’t want to play it for the jury, because then they would see the similarities.”
Ed Sheeran is fresh off the release of his vulnerable, 14-track new album Subtract, and the 32-year-old superstar sat down with Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson along with his album collaborator, The National’s Aaron Dessner, to discuss their experience working on the project together.
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“It’s totally different to any way that I’ve worked before,” Sheeran explained of collaborating with Dessner. “He comes with a finished product and goes, ‘Write what you feel.’ And there’s no like, ‘Oh, that line sounds a bit weird,’ or this. You write brain to page and the song’s done. And then you go in and you basically form it. And if anything, we strip back more from the recordings that he sent.”
Dessner noted that the duo immediately “clicked,” adding, “There was like a little wildfire. When we got together, we thought we’d try a few things, and we ended up with 36 songs or something.”
With a slew of songs showcasing his masterful songwriting, it’s hard to imagine that Sheeran has a favorite song on Subtract. However, he has a special connection to the songwriting process of “No Strings,” which details an unconditional type of love. “It just came from Aaron being on piano and me singing. And then we put it down and it’s as if the song didn’t matter. And then coming back to it’s now my favorite song on the record,” he shared.
Listen to the full Apple Music interview with Sheeran and Dessner here.
Apple Music Live is returning for season two on Wednesday (May 10), and Ed Sheeran is kicking off the live performance series by performing his upcoming album – (pronounced Subtract) in full for the first time.
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Sheeran will be delivering the album alongside a 12-piece band that includes Aaron Dessner of The National, who worked with the 32-year-old superstar to produce and co-write the project. The performance will debut on Wednesday (May 10) at noon PT via Apple Music’s website here and Apple TV+.
“I’m delighted to share my Subtract album show with you,” Sheeran said in a press release. “I was really nervous on the day, as it was my first time performing the new album tracks. The show was brought to life by Aaron and the incredible band, and it was an honor to stand beside them. It was an emotional night, but I’m so pleased we got to document it.”
The 14-track new album arrived on Friday (May 5) via Atlantic Records, marking the final installment in Sheeran’s decade-long mathematical album era, following 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷ and 2021’s =.
“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air,” Sheeran said of the inspiration behind the album when announcing it back in March. “As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
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British pop star, Ed Sheeran, is taking the infringement lawsuit filed against him by one of the writers of Marvin Gaye’s hit, “Let’s Get It On,” as an insult.
The singer took the stand and threatened to quit music if the court ruled against him in the case which alleges that his hit “Thinking Out Loud” contains elements of Gaye’s hit. “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he told his lawyer Ilene Farkas while under oath, according to The Daily Mail.
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‘I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,’ the ‘Shape of You’ singer added.
Sheeran is being sued for $100 million by the heirs of Ed Townsend who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye.
The case has been quite a spectacle, with, at one point, Sheeran taking to the guitar to play an acoustic version of the song for the jury. In Manhattan federal court last week, lawyers for Townsend’s heirs played a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ during a live performance.
They likened the mash-up to a confession that he had ripped off the song.
But in court on Monday, Sheeran said he and many other artists frequently perform ‘mash ups,’ and that he had on other occasions combined ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy in Love’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’
‘I mash up songs at lots of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from “Let It Be” to “No Woman No Cry” and switch back,’ he said.
‘And quite frankly, if I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,’ he added.
Musicologist Alexander Stewart is an expert witness in the case and he argued last week that the first 24 seconds of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ were similar to the beginning of ‘Let’s Get it On.’ Stewart said in court that they ‘have the same harmonic rhythm’ while pointing out melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and interlude.
The British rocker has been combative on the stand pushing back as he explained the process of writing the song in 2014 as a collaboration with a songwriting partner named Amy Wadge. He maintained, “I draw inspiration a lot from things in my life and family.”
The Townsend family is being represented by famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
If Sheeran is found to have ripped off elements of the song, a second trial will likely be held to determine damages.
It’s worth noting that when Sheeran’s hit, “Shape Of You” was released in January 2017, Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac were as the song’s only songwriters. It was not until fans pointed out the similarities between the song and the TLC hit, “No Scrubs,” that producer Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs, Xscape stars and songwriters, Kandi Burruss and Tameka Cottle-Harris were added to the credits.
While Ed Sheeran has been in the public eye for more than a decade, his personal life has remained relatively private. For the first time ever, the 32-year-old superstar has opened the doors to his world and his mind in his new Disney+ docuseries, Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All.
The four-part series delves into topics of love, loss, focus and balance as viewers enjoy the highs and lows that have defined his global success, including his childhood, his unwavering work ethic, his marriage to Cherry Seaborn and her devastating cancer diagnosis, plus his friendship with the late music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards.
The Sum of It All arrives on Disney+ on May 3, just two days before Sheeran is set to reveal his highly anticipated new album, – (pronounced Subtract), on May 5 via Atlantic Records.
To celebrate the docuseries’ release, see below for its most captivating moments. Sign up for Disney+ here.
Every Aspect of His Career Was Planned
Quickly in the documentary, fans can see just how meticulous Sheeran is about his career. “I always knew that you just have to work harder than everyone else because there’s always going to be someone that wants it more than you,” he tells the camera, as flashback footage of a young Sheeran performing at small venues plays on the screen. “I looked at all my peers, and was like, ‘Well, you’re playing one show a week. I’m gonna do three shows a night.”
He even planned out his mathematical-themed albums. “When I first started out, I really wanted to make five albums,” he explains. “Plus (+) would be the addition onto all the EPs I had done up until that point. Multiply (x) would make it bigger. Divide (÷) would be a double album of acoustic and R&B and then equals would be the sum of all the parts. And then the fifth record is [Subtract].”
Jamal Edwards Is Honored Throughout the Series
Sheeran struggles with the loss of his best friend, Jamal Edwards, throughout The Sum of It All. The beloved entrepreneur died in February 2022 of cardiac arrest at age 31, and one of the most vulnerable parts of the documentary is when Sheeran attends his six-month memorial.
After feeling overwhelmed, the star takes a moment to breathe in the car, and breaks down in tears. “I know everyone should be having fun. That’s the whole point. I just feel so lost in there,” he says between sobs. “It’s still like very, very raw. I’ve never been to a burial […] Suddenly you’re putting dirt on your mate’s grave and it’s very, very real.”
Throughout the series, Sheeran honors his “best mate” through videos of the duo laughing together, and various tributes to Edwards, including the writing process of his recent single “Eyes Closed” and a performance of “Take Me Back to London” with Stormzy at London’s Wembley Stadium dedicated to his late friend.
Ed & Cherry’s First Date
One of the more lighthearted moment in The Sum of It All, was seeing how much Sheeran loves his wife. At one point in the series, the duo are seen in a Tuk Tuk vehicle, enjoying a beer and reminiscing on their chaotic first date boating in NYC’s Central Park.
““It was the busiest, busiest, hottest day of the year in New York,” Cherry recalls, before Ed takes over. “I was rowing and we got out to the middle of the lake and this boats just started surrounding us. All of these tourists, filming and taking pictures,” the singer says as the duo burst into laughter. “Chez goes, ‘Do you want me to row?’ And I was like, ‘Cherry, the last thing I need is a picture of you rowing me!’”
Cherry’s Cancer Diagnosis
Just before Edwards passed away, Sheeran was dealing with another tragic event. Six-month pregnant Cherry found a tumor in her arm, which turned out to be cancer. “The doctor was basically like, ‘This is really bad.’ And we were like, ‘Oh, OK,’” Sheeran recalled. “He was like, ‘But we’re not going to have results back for a month.’ So we just sort of wandered around London for the day.”
Cherry added that, thankfully, the “tumor came back a lot less severe than they originally thought,” and she was able to give birth to the couple’s daughter before receiving treatment.
Sheeran shared that after the cancer diagnosis, he wrote seven songs in four hours. He performed an acoustic version of one of the tracks, singing, “This week was heavy / I buckled under all the weight / What can you do but pray? / I count my blessings, it wasn’t any other way / Don’t leave it up to fate / Same problems, different options / Pain comes at a cost but we got this / Need respite, bleed time dry / She’ll be fine, she’ll be fine.”
Eminem Helped Sheeran’s Childhood Stutter
Before Sheeran took the stage with Eminem to perform “Stan” with him to celebrate the rapper’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the “Perfect” singer and his father reminisced on how being an Em fan helped Ed recover from his stutter as a child.
“Learning all the Eminem raps because they were all really fast, choppy. I’d learn the entire thing back to back and that pretty much sorted it,” Sheeran said of owning Em’s 1999 album, The Slim Shady LP.
He continued, “Being a pop star for a very long time, people will be like, ‘Oh, it’s normal for him to go up and sing with Eminem.’ But this is literally the dream of mine as a kid to do this, and it’s not normal.”
Attorneys for Ed Sheeran and his copyright accusers sparred before a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday morning, kicking off a closely-watched trial over whether his “Thinking Out Loud” infringed Marvin Gaye‘s famed “Let’s Get It On.”
With Sheeran himself watching impassively, attorney Benjamin Crump repeatedly told the jury to use their “common sense” to see that the pop star had stolen the “magic” from the earlier song.
“If you remember nothing else about this case, simply remember it is about giving credit where credit is due,” Crump said during his opening statement, occasionally speaking directly to Sheeran just feet away.
Teasing testimony that will unfold during the trial, Crump said he would show jurors “smoking gun” evidence: a much-debated video of Sheeran toggling between the two songs at a concert.
“That concert video is a confession,” Crump said.
Firing back for Sheeran was attorney Ilene Farkas, who told the jury during her own opening statements that Sheeran had “independently created” his song. And more importantly, she said, the only overlap with “Let’s” were his use of “exceedingly common musical building blocks” that cannot be “monopolized” by his accusers.
“Plaintiffs do not own them, because nobody does,” Farkas said. “All songwriters draw from this same basic toolkit.”
Ed Sheeran arrives at Manhattan Court to testify on the copyright trial where he is accused of copying Marvin Gaye’s song, in New York, United States on April 25, 2023.
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She said her clients had been “wrongly accursed of taking something they did not take,” and warned jurors that a verdict for Sheeran’s accusers would “change the what that songwriters are able to write.”
“We ask you not to let that happen,” Farkas told the jury.
Tuesday’s opening statements mark the start of a long-awaited trial in a copyright lawsuit filed way back in 2017 by heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s longtime producer who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On,” over Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” — a commercial and critical success that hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 before winning the Grammy Award for song of the year.
The case claims that Sheeran infringed copyrights by stealing the “heart” from one of the most “instantly recognizable songs in R&B history.” But the pop star’s lawyers say he simply used commonplace musical elements that are free for all to use.
The trial, taking place at the U.S. federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, kicked off Monday with jury selection on Monday before actually getting under way with opening statements on Tuesday. Testimony is expected to run at least through Friday, meaning a verdict could arrive Friday or early the following week.
Testimony will continue on Tuesday afternoon, potentially with Sheeran himself taking the witness stand.
If found liable, Sheeran could be facing millions in potential damages. After a jury ruled that the 2013 megahit “Blurred Lines” had infringed Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up,” Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ultimately ordered to pay a $5 million judgment, plus ongoing royalties from their song.
Ed Sheeran is less than a month away from completing his mathematical album equation with – (Subtract), and on Friday (April 21), he dropped the album’s opener.
“Boat” serves as a metaphor for depression, according to the singer, and its corresponding music video cements the message with its turbulent seaside landscapes. “‘Boat’ is the first song I wrote and finished for Subtract, it’s where it all began, and a good way to kick off the album,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram announcing the single earlier this week.
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The song follows lead single “Eyes Closed” as the second offering from the upcoming album, which is set to arrive in full on May 5 as the final chapter of the mathematically themed albums he began with 2011’s + (Plus).
“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art,” Sheeran previously shared about Subtract.
Two days before the album arrives, the four-part documentary Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All will begin streaming on Disney+ starting May 3, featuring never-before-seen personal archive clips, interviews and performances.
Watch the “Boat” music video below.