There are very few people in the music industry that can turn heads as quickly as Ed Sheeran can. A young Englishman with bright orange hair and a soft voice nearly as smooth as his guitar playing, there’s a lot that gives Sheeran a distinct personality and makes him stand out from his fellow pop stars. He’s developed a fanbase of dedicated listeners who adore his blend of modern pop singing and relaxed acoustics that no other musician can replicate.

Sheeran grew up in the small town of Framlingham in eastern England, having sang and played the guitar from a young age. In 2009, he released “The A Team”, the song that would first win Sheeran international recognition. His first major album, + (plus), was released later that year to strong sales and worldwide praise. His second album, x (multiply), was released in 2014 and surpassed + in fame and recognition. Several singles from the album, including “Don’t”, “Sing”, and “Thinking Out Loud,” topped charts and set records in the United States and the UK. Nominated for a Grammy Album of the Year in 2015, x made Sheeran one of the most popular musical artists of the decade.

However, with the announcement of ÷, Sheeran’s third album, it appears the artists is taking a marked deviation from the cool acoustics that originally brought him to fame. After a year-long hiatus from the public eye in 2016, Sheeran returned to the spotlight in an explosive fashion by releasing the first two singles from ÷, “Castle on the Hill” and “Shape of You”. With a bold new sound that differentiated his new songs from albums past, Sheeran toys with new genres and new instruments, making his first “÷” singles two of Sheeran’s most unique songs.

“Shape of You” flirts with the genre of tropical house, which first attained popularity in 2015, pioneered by artists like Kygo, Justin Bieber and Felix Jaehn. The song details Sheeran’s rapid infatuation with an unmentioned lover, with lyrics including, “I’m in love with the shape of you / We push and pull like a magnet do / Although my heart is falling too / I’m in love with your body”.

A distinct marimba rhythm overpowers his characteristic guitar and gives the song strong, joyful energy. Sheeran’s experiment with dance music and tropical house successfully conveys his spirited message. Listeners responded in kind: “Shape of You” debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 100 and broke the record for most Spotify plays in 24 hours with a whopping 6.2 million.

“I like it,” Megan Olsen ‘20 tells the Advocate. “I don’t usually listen to Ed Sheeran, but the song really stands out to me.” It seems as if “Shape” has resonated with an even larger audience than Sheeran has previously been able to capture.

Charting at U.S. Billboard 100 at #6, “Castle on the Hill” shook the music industry in a similar fashion to “Shape”. Like “Shape”, “Castle” is distinctive and unique for a Sheeran song.  Alert listeners will immediately notice something different about his second single: its quick tempo. “Castle” is one of Ed Sheeran’s fastest songs. However, the fast beat meshes well with the subject of the song: the singer’s childhood in the tiny town of Framlingham in Suffolk. A steady, thumping vibe gives Sheeran a strong bassline that accompanies him as he reminisces about the passage of time, singing: “I was younger then, take me back to when I / Found my heart and broke it here / Made friends and lost them through the years / And I’ve not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I’ve grown / But I can’t wait to go home”.

But going home is precisely the opposite of what Sheeran has done with both of his new singles. Sheeran, seeking a musical evolution, has created a musical revolution among the general public, becoming the first ever artist to simultaneously debut two singles on the U.S. Billboard Top 10.

“He’s making a strong comeback,” Derrick Ro ‘19 comments. “He had a hiatus but he’s definitely still singing good songs.” With a confident, new style of music, it’s safe to say nearly everyone is eager to hear more of Sheeran.

Before he announced ÷, Sheeran claimed that his third album “was the best thing [he’d] ever made.” We’ll be able to decide that for ourselves when ÷ releases on March 3rd, 2017.