Image via Complex Original
Intro
Chart-topping UK singers aren't much of a surprise. Adele and Amy Winehouse have both claimed these shores with their twist on Britain's long-standing interest in classic soul. And before that, James Blunt told everyone "You're Beautiful," becoming the first UK act to top the US singles chart in nearly a decade.
The point is, America's got an occasional thing for British singers and when love strikes, it hits hard.
Ed Sheeran is the latest Brit to aim for America with healthy ambition and toting a triple platinum album from back home, +. Big name support, specifically from Sir Elton John (a massive fan of the album and its breakthrough single "A Team.") won't hurt the cause. Nor will Sheeran's EP with Yelawolf, which drops tomorrow.
Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Sheeran (now 20) started recording and releasing music at the age of 14. At 16, he quit school and moved to London to get serious about his craft. The origin of Sheeran's mainstream success lies in an unlikely relationship with SB.TV, an underground "youth broadcaster" known primarily for hip-hop and grime freestyle sessions delivered straight to YouTube. Sheeran hit the platform in February 2010, performing a version of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You," which has since generated over 5 million views. His "new sound"—a hybrid of acoustic guitar, singing, rapping, and beatboxing—hit home, and Sheeran hasn't looked back since.
So by now you're probably wondering Who is Ed Sheeran? Let's find out.
As told to Nick Schonberger (@nschon)
Leaving School
Leaving School And Doing 300 Shows In A Year
Ed Sheeran: "One of the reasons I left school was that I was doing a lot of gigs in London, I grew up about two hours from there, on school nights and was missing a lot of my classes to do them. My musical life before leaving home was pretty similar to what it is now, just I had school in between. I wrote a lot of songs in my spare time and did a lot of shows around the country, jumping on trains to get around. Really, I was just doing what I do now, except not in full capacity.
'For the first year, the 300 gigs, my aim wasn't so much to build a fan base. I think before you build a fan base you need to master your craft. So, my thing with the gigs was that practice makes perfect and I need to play in front of as many different crowds as possible so by the time I get to the point of festivals and other big gigs I'd be good enough to warrant having those shows. Getting all that experience in before the big break. Rather than breaking, getting 300 shows, and not really being up to scratch. That 300 gigs was just to do that.
"Sounds weird, but James Blunt's work ethic is an inspiration. I share a manager with him and his diary is pretty much my benchmark. He does a lot, and I am willing to match that."
Influences and UK Hip-Hop
Influences and UK Hip-Hop
Ed Sheeran: "Song writing wise, I'm influnenced by people like Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Damien Rice. Lyrically, I'm inspired by Jay-Z and Eminem."
"Example, a rapper turned artist with a knack for catchy hooks, saw my video on SB.TV [the UK's top online "youth broadcaster"] and invited me on my first big tour. My relationship with Devlin came through touring with Example. We shared a dressing room and I would spend every day just jamming with him.
I mean, I guess I'm a rapper at heart. I'm just a rapper who can sing better than he can rap. So, I guess there is that.
"People like [British rappers] Wretch and Devlin are… I mean they are influences as well. Everyone I worked with on my collaborations EP were among my favorite rappers. Anyone from P Money, one of the first people to fuse the grime style with dubstep, to Dot Rotton, who is one of the best songwriters in the scene. I'm influenced by Wiley [the Godfather of Grime] and Wretch, he's widly considered a "rapper's rapper." Devlin, he's just one of the best. Those guys are on the No. 5 Collaborations Project EP are my top.
"I think K-Koke [who is signed to Roc Nation] is brilliant. He's just dropped a new song called "Power" that's great. His song with Emily Sande, "Last Train Home," that for me, is the pinnacle of great songs, rapper wise. I think it is amazing.
"This guy ScruFizzer, he's just put up a "Warm Up Session" on SBTV, is a very skippy rapper. I think he'd be amazing to work with.
"Beat-boxing isn't something I pride myself on doing well. It is just something that allows me to create precision on stage live. I am not the world's best, or worst beat boxer. But, when I put it in the mix with everything else it seems to work."
Importance of YouTube
The Importance of YouTube
Ed Sheeran: "YouTube, for new artists nowadays, is really important. Even from the perspective of this—you can write a new song and film it on your phone. Then you upload it to YouTube and get and instant reaction. That's a powerful thing. Giving out music really helps you generate a fan base. You can film music videos cheaply and get them out right away, like I did with the "A-Team." I did a gig in a homeless shelter and I met a woman there. The song is based on her story.
I did the video for "A-Team" for 20 quid. About $40.
"Being on SB.TV [a UK online platform known best for underground grime and rap freestyle videos] happened out of freak coincidence. He [Jamal] saw one of my videos on YouTube and and I happen to have tweeted him one day because said, "what film should I watch?" I mentioned precious, and he said "cool, let's make a video." The next day we made that video.
"Literally 20 seconds before I met you, I uploaded the trailer I made for the Yelawolf EP. That generates hype and is better than me just tweeting about it or anything else. It's like, here's a video of us making a tune. The EP is coming out in two weeks. It is a really powerful tool."
Working With Yelawolf
Working With Yelawolf
Ed Sheeran: "I'm just a big fan of Yelawolf. I kind of worked up to having my music be a success in England and was in a position to do a lot of things. One of the things I wanted to do was work with him. I reached out, he said yes. We had 10 hours in the studio and it is some of the most interesting music I've ever made. His work pattern is amazing. I'd make the beat and sing the hook, he'd write a verse in about 15 minutes and go in and do it in one take. No gaps, no breaks, nothing. In and out."
Breaking In America
Breaking In America
Ed Sheeran: "My goal for 2012 is America. I've got the Snowpatrol tour. I'm hoping to do three or four radio stations a day. I'm very determined to do what is needed here.
"A quarter of Texas is the size of the UK. Breaking America is going to take quite a lot of time and effort, and also sleepless nights. But, I'm going to do.
"I wouldn't want to take responsibility for breaking UK rappers over here, but the more that happens for me, the more people are going to discover the tunes I've done with those guys. I'd love one day to do a track with Devlin and Method Man. I'd like to work myself up to that ability to do things like that. But, it will take a lot of work to get up to that point."