In 2014, Sheeran became the most-streamed musician in the world. The 10 years since have seen his dominance grow, helped by relatability, a pick-and-mix approach to genre and a way with an earworm melody. But in 2024 is his influence waning?
Ed Sheeran is popular because he is a generational talent. Ed Sheeran is popular because his output is generic and bland. Ed Sheeran is popular because he reinvents himself in line with the latest musical trends. Ed Sheeran is popular because he has a distinctive style. Ed Sheeran is popular thanks to his hardcore fanbase. Ed Sheeran is popular because the public are forcibly subjected to his songs via relentless airplay and playlist domination. Ed Sheeran is an earnest, authentic troubadour who grafted on the open-mic circuit for years. Ed Sheeran is a cynical shapeshifting pop music machine who gamed the algorithm. Ed Sheeran is the perennial underdog of pop. Ed Sheeran is its king.
Middle England’s megastar bard is a mass of contradictions, but one thing is crystal clear: he is unbelievably popular. We are spoiled for stats to prove it, but here are two: Sheeran has the most Spotify followers of any artist on the planet (10 million more than Taylor Swift, his good friend and closest competitor); Sheeran has been the most played artist in the UK for six out of the last eight years. His debut, + (Plus), was the UK’s third best-selling album of 2012 – but he was largely viewed as trite teen girl fodder. Then there was a serious step up in 2014, the year the Suffolk-bred singer-songwriter scored his first UK No 1 single with Sing, a frisky, Pharrell Williams-produced account of drunken desire that saw Sheeran graft rap, funk and rowdy dance-pop on to the acoustic balladry that had become his calling card. That year he would also become Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world. With his newfound sliver of edge and clever genre-blending, Sheeran had proven he was ready to step out of his troubadour-next-door box and into full pop star mode.
