By Lily Firth
Staff Writer
It’s not news to anyone that Ed Sheeran has been a very successful and popular artist. Fans of the British singer fell in love with everything from his poetic ballads to his upbeat acoustic songs accompanied by his trusty guitar and loop pedal.
Sheeran devastated his fans, though, when he announced in 2015 that he was going radio silent and dropping off the grid for a while, absent on social media and no longer creating new music, in order to do some quiet soul searching.
Finally, Sheeran dropped his highly anticipated album on March 3, and he did not disappoint. Although his other albums were amazing, Sheeran outdid himself with his most recent album, “Divide.” He branched out of his comfort zone and experimented with new instruments and sounds, including two very Irish sounding songs, “Galway Girl” and “Nancy Mulligan.”
Of course, he still breaks hearts with his slow ballads, such as “Save Myself” in which he sings about having to save his own heart before he can love again. In the somber song “Happier,” he admits that his lover will truly be happier with someone else.
Sheeran taps deep into his own emotions and experiences to make his music so personal and relatable to the audience. We can feel his pain through his tender and poignant lyrics.
He added some upbeat songs to bring us back up, too. Some of his songs actually made me laugh out loud like“New Man,” which makes fun of the materialistic new man his past lover is bragging about to him. Even the perky flutes in “Barcelona” made me want to smile and dance in my seat.
Even some songs have important messages that make me reflect on our society. In “What Do I Know?” he ponders how to save the world with just a piano and some positivity. “Castle on the Hill” reminisces about simpler times and plays on my homesickness while I recall fond childhood memories.
He also does an impressive job of rapping in “Eraser.” His lyrics aren’t nonsensical either –– he taps into his emotions and pours his heart out about what fame and money has done to him and how it is destroying a lot of his relationships.
His album makes you laugh, cry, reminisce and even fall in love with him. It is truly a beautiful work of art.
There are a million praises I can say about this album, and I’m sure his fans will all agree with me. The charts agree, too –– his single “Shape of You” is already No. 1 in many countries and played repeatedly on the radio. This album is No. 1 in several countries, as well.
Everyone has been buzzing and tweeting about this new album, including other successful artists such as Calvin Harris, who sent a loving tweet Sheeran’s way. Spotify also recently crowned Sheeran as the No. 1 streamed artist on its site. With the success of his album, I’m sure we will see a lot more growth and success from Sheeran in years to come.
