Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade or so, there's a small chance that you'll have heard of Ed Sheeran.
It's fair to say that you can't watch TV, tune into the radio, or even walk into your local supermarket without hearing one of the 31-year-olds biggest hits. The ginger pop music sensation has taken the world by storm with his catchy tunes, charismatic cadence and kind personality - and the people of the North East are in for a treat this weekend, when the Halifax native lands in the North East for a string of shows at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
And although Ed is now selling out arenas and playing his tunes on a world stage - he came from humble roots, and a lifestyle far less lavish than his current one.
Read more: Everything you need to know ahead of Ed Sheeran in the North East
But exactly how did a young lad busking on the bustling streets of London become a globally renowned superstar?
Let's take a look into the rise of Ed Sheeran, and see how he has achieved the successes of his long-standing legacy so far.
Humble beginnings -
Ed comes from an incredibly creative family, with both his parents Imogen and John working in the art industry and his elder brother Matthew, a successful composer in his own right - and from a very young age he was encouraged to also pursue a career in the creative arts sector.
It is said that he began singing at a local church in Halifax aged just four, before learning how to play the guitar aged eleven - writing many of his earlier tracks when he was still a student at school. After falling in love with music, he moved to London with ambitions of making it big in the Big Smoke - playing at small music venues and busking aged just 16.
It is around the same time that Ed auditioned for Britannia High alongside Pixie Lott - and although he impressed a stringent panel of judges with his vocal capabilities, he was unfortunately knocked back due to not carrying other desired skills.
In 2010, Ed however started making waves on social media - after a recording of 'You Don't Need Me' with the late Jamal Edwards for SBTV went viral - amassing millions of views on the start-up's YouTube channel. Rapper Example was reported to be incredibly impressed by the youngster, and subsequently invited him on a tour of the UK as a supporting act.
Off the back of his touring success, he released his first ever EP entitled 'Loose Change' which featured his debut single 'The A-Team' - and life changed forever for the aspiring musician.
As a result, he was invited to spend time with Jamie Foxx at his home, as well as to perform at his Foxxhole club in Tarzana, Los Angeles.
Ed then went on to release his second EP in January 2011 - the ' No. 5 Collaborations Project' which featured other up and coming musicians across the UK including JME, Wiley, Ghetts and Devlin. T he release was a massive success, reaching as high as number 2 in the iTunes charts - amassing over 7,000 sales in the first week alone.
Within the same month, he was signed to Asylum Records and his international successes began. Shortly thereafter, he released his debut album '+' which included prior hits such as The A-Team, You Don't Need Me, as well as new singles like Lego House - the music video of which featuring Rupert Grint of Harry Potter.
The album itself blew up completely, reaching number 1 on the UK Albums Chart with in excess of 102,000 sales - becoming the second best-selling debut album. It also reached number 5 in the US Albums Chart.
The very same album has since been certified platinum six times by the British Phonographic Industry, with shipments of over 1,800,000 copies.
Records broken, Brits and Grammies, and a coveted MBE -
At the 2012 Brit Awards, Ed would take home two prestigious trophies for both Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough Act of the Year. He would then go on to collaborate with the likes of Taylor Swift and One Direction, writing and co-writing tracks for both artists before heading on a tour of the US with Snow Patrol.
Other notable events for 2012 included performing at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Summer Olympics, while in 2013 he embarked on a headline tour of the US and sold out Madison Square Garden three times.
In 2013, Sheeran composed the soundtrack for blockbuster movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug entitled 'I See Fire', which also reached 13th on the UK Album Charts.
His second studio album 'X' would be released in June 2014, reaching number one on both the UK and US Album Charts before embarking on a four-month world tour to promote said release.
In 2015, Ed would perform at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in LA, before taking home awards for both Song of the Year for 'Thinking out Loud' and Best Pop Solo Performance at the following ceremony in 2016.
In 2017, Ed released his third album '÷' which became the fastest-selling album ever from any male solo artist in the UK. It also was named the best selling album in both the UK and US.
Single 'Shape of You' from the album itself was also was named as the best selling single of the year in both countries, with the YouTube music video for the track also breaking records in its own right. It became just the second video ever uploaded to the platform to receive more than four billion views, after 'Despacito' by Luis Fonsi.
In December 2017, arguably the biggest honour of all his career achievements was awarded to Ed, when he was awarded an MBE from prince Charles. The award came in celebration of Sheeran's musical career as well as aspects of his dedication to charity work, with endless contributions and endeavours to East Anglia's Children's Hospices.
The next year, Ed would also receive the prestigious Global Success Award at the 2018 Brits.
Fourth album and an 18 month hiatus -
In 2019 Ed released his fourth studio album 'No.6 Collaborations Project' consisting entirely of collaborations with other artists such as Justin Bieber, Khalid, Stormzy and Bruno Mars. The very same year, he achieved Global Success at the Brits for a second consecutive year.
After two years of touring the 'Divide' album he would announce a 'hiatus', citing that the closing night of the tour would be his last gig for 18 months. And true to his word, the superstar who had built an empire in the performing arts industry would take some well deserved time off to spend with family and friends, seeing the birth of his first daughter Lyra in September 2020.
Back with a bang: 2021 to present -
In 2021 Ed would return to the studio, releasing hit single Bad Habits in June. The single itself would hit 1 billion streams on music streaming platform Spotify. Two months later, he would announce his fifth studio album entitled '=' - releasing various songs such as 'Visiting Hours' and 'Shivers' before its release in October the same year.
It was during this period that Ed would also announce his Mathematics Tour 2022 - informing fans that he would be playing shows at various stadiums across the UK such as London's Wembley, Glasgow's Hampden Park and Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
'=' was released on the 29th of October 2021 landing him his fifth consecutive number 1 album. With 139,000 chart sales he outperformed the rest of the week's top 30 combined - a massive landmark for the 31-year-old and his longstanding legacy.
Ed would also win Songwriter of the Year at the Brits ceremony in 2022 - in an awards evening that would also see him take to the stage with Bring Me The Horizon to perform a rocky rendition of 'Bad Habits'.
Ed Sheeran is set to perform at the Stadium of Light on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4. Will you be watching the superstar perform to a packed out crowd?
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