30 Facts About Ed Sheeran On His 30th Birthday

By JC Villamere. 17 Feb 2021 7:00 AM

How can he only be 30 when he has already accomplished a lifetime of goals? Whatever will he do with the next 30 years? These are heavy questions and we like things that are fun and light. That’s why we made you this list of 30 pretty cute facts about our favourite ginger troubadour on the occasion of his birthday on February 17.

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Record Maker, Record Breaker
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1. Sheeran has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's bestselling music artists.

2. He broke records set by U2 and the Rolling Stones by having the highest-grossing tour of all time. His 2017-'19 "÷" tour grossed more than $776,200,000.
He's A Natural Performer
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3. Like his brother, who is a composer, Sheeran showed promise in music from a young age. He sang in the church choir and started to learn guitar before he turned five.

4. His 2004 report card identified him as a "natural performer."
It's Like Prom King, But Different

5. The Thomas Mills High School Prom Award certificate in the category of 'Most Likely to be Famous' was presented to Edward Sheeran in May 2007.

6. He was accepted at the National Youth Theatre in London as a teenager.
'A Team'
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7. In 2010, he headed to L.A. to further his music career. He ended up playing in Jamie Foxx's club, and the movie star let the then-unknown guitar player crash at his place for six weeks and use his recording studio.

8. His debut album, '+', came out in September 2011 with his first hit single, "The A Team".
The Elton John Bump
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9. After "The A Team" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammys, Elton John canvassed the award organizers to have Sheeran perform on the show. They were, like, "No, he's not famous enough," and so then Elton John was, like, "Very well. Let Elton John perform on the show with his duet partner, Ed Sheeran," and the Grammy folks were, like, "Okay Mr. John, whatever you say, sir." Because he is actually a sir. We did quite a bit of paraphrasing there, but the "sir" part is legit.
Squad Goals
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10. Taylor Swift contacted Sheeran after hearing his music and he opened for her on her 2013-'14 "Red" tour.

11. Sheeran also contributed two songs to One Direction's second album, 2012's 'Take Me Home', including the hit single "Little Things".
Wish We Were There
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12. Sheeran performed "The A Team" at the concert for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in June 2012.

13. Later that summer, he performed a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" at the Closing Ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
A Career With Purpose
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14. Sheeran's second album, 'X', was released in June 2014 and became one of the year's bestselling albums. It was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year.

15. He wrote "Love Yourself" for Justin Bieber's career-defining fourth album, 2015's 'Purpose'.
MC of the MMVAs
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16. Sheeran co-hosted the 2015 Much Music Video Awards in Toronto. He performed "Thinking Out Loud" and "Photograph" live. Then he picked up the awards for Best International Artist and Most Buzzworthy International Artist or Group.

17. "Thinking Out Loud", the third single from 'X', won the 2016 Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

18. He performed "Thinking Out Loud" alongside John Mayer, Questlove and Herbie Hancock at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Elton John didn't have to intervene to get him a spot on the broadcast, either.

19. In July 2017, Sheeran appeared in a scene on "Game of Thrones"
opposite Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark.
Everyone Loves Division
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20. The first two singles from his third studio album '÷', "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", debuted at the top of the charts. '÷' was released in March 2017.

21. '÷' was the bestselling album worldwide of 2017.

22. His fourth single from '÷', "Perfect", reached #1. It became the Christmas #1 of 2017 In the U.K., where they make a big deal about who will have the #1 song on the charts on Christmas.
World's Best
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23. As the world's bestselling artist of 2017, he was named the Global Recording Artist of the Year.

24. At the end of 2017, he was awarded the MBE, a.k.a. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. It's a (very) British order of chivalry that rewards contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service outside the civil service.
The Grey Poupon Of Ketchup
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25. Among his many tattoos, he has one of a ketchup bottle.

26. He's a big fan of ketchup. In 2019, he appeared in an ad for Heinz Ketchup. Heinz didn't approach him. He approached them. Can you imagine how excited those ketchup execs must have been?

27. Three limited-edition bottles of Heinz Ketchup designed by Sheeran were auctioned by Christie's. Each bottle sold for more than £1,000 (that's about $1,760 in our dollars). One of the bottles sold for £1,500 ($2,640), and it is believed to be the most valuable sauce ever sold at auction. (Now we want to know what the second and third and fourth most valuable sauces are, but that's a separate list.) All money raised from the bottles was donated to East Anglia's Children's Hospices and Rise Against Hunger.

28. In another Heinz collab, Sheeran released his own Heinz Tomato Ketchup with the label reading 'Tomato Edchup". How can you not love this guy?
Beautiful People
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29. In 2019, he made an uncredited cameo in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" as a stormtrooper.

30. Released in 2019, his fourth studio album, "No.6 Collaborations Project" debuted at #1 and includes the hit singles "I Don't Care", "Beautiful People" and "Take Me Back to London".

We're not sure how a guy who's used to being at #1 will handle turning the big 3-0. Maybe we should remind him of the lyrics of his 2017 song, "What Do I Know?"
"The future's in the hands of you and me / so let's all get together we can all be free / spread love and understanding, positivity."
Happy Birthday, Ed(chup) Sheeran. You'll always be part of our A Team.

30 Facts About Ed Sheeran On His 30th Birthday

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