2015-03-09

ED SHEERAN SCORES FIRST #1 SINGLE AT TOP 40 RADIO

WITH “THINKING OUT LOUD”

GRAMMY NOMINATED SINGER-SONGWRITER’S MULTI-PLATINUM SMASH ALSO CLIMBS TO #1 ON THE HOT AC AND ADULT CONTEMPORARY RADIO CHARTS;

NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINING TOUR DATES CONTINUE TO SELL OUT IN MINUTES;

GRAMMY NOMINATED ALBUM “x” AVAILABLE NOW

Atlantic
recording artist Ed Sheeran has climbed to #1 on the Top 40 radio chart
with his multiplatinum hit “Thinking Out Loud.” This marks the highest
charting song of the GRAMMY-nominated
singer-songwriter’s career at the format.  “Thinking Out Loud” is also
enjoying chart-topping success at additional formats - this week, the
song returns to #1 on the Hot AC radio chart for its fourth week (three
of which have been consecutive) and also climbs
to the top spot on the Adult Contemporary radio chart.  “Thinking Out
Loud” is the third single from Sheeran’s RIAA-certified platinum album
“x” (pronounced multiply), which recently won “Best British Album” at
the 2015 BRIT Awards and was nominated for “Album
Of The Year” at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

“Thinking Out Loud” is proving to be one of the biggest singles of the year, having already gone to #1 on both
Billboard’s Digital Songs chart and the MEDIABASE POWERPLAYLIST
chart, which ranks the week’s top current songs based on audience,
digital single sales, audio and video streaming, and Shazam tags.
Additionally, the single stands tall at #2 on
Billboard Hot 100 for the seventh week.  “Thinking Out Loud” has
also  enjoyed global success, having gone to #1 in 9 countries around
the world, including his native United Kingdom, while the
beautifully-shot companion music video (http://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA)

– directed by longtime collaborator Emil Nava – has already amassed
over 250 million views worldwide.  Sheeran debuted the song in the U.S.
with high profile performances on CBS’ “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show”
and the season finale of NBC’s “The Voice” in
December.

Last month, Sheeran received one of the biggest ovations of the night for his performance of “Thinking Out Loud” at the 57th
Annual GRAMMY Awards, where he was joined onstage
by GRAMMY winners Herbie Hancock, John Mayer, and Questlove, performed
with Jeff Lynne’s ELO, and was nominated for 3 awards, including the
prestigious “Album of the Year” for “x.”  The following week, Sheeran
was the only artist among the star-studded lineup
to perform twice on CBS’ “Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of
Life – An All-Star GRAMMY Salute” – the jaw-dropping, show opener with
Beyonce and Gary Clark Jr. as well as a ground-breaking solo
performance, both of which earned  standing ovations.

Sheeran
is currently in the midst of his worldwide headlining tour to support
“x” with shows for the North American leg selling out in a matter of
minutes.  Sold out stops include
a two night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California,
back-to-back nights at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York,
Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and a pair of performances at Red
Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado among others.
Sheeran’s North American tour is produced and promoted by AEG Live
& The Messina Group (TMG), and set to kick off at Austin’s Frank
Erwin Center on May 6th.  Additionally, Sheeran will be among
the top-billed performers at a number festivals including
the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Beale Street Music
Festival in Memphis, Rock in Rio USA in Las Vegas, and Summerfest in
Milwaukee.  Following the North American run, Sheeran will return to the
UK for the biggest shows of his career - three sold out
nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.  For more ticket information and
tour updates, please visit
www.edsheeran.com.

* * * * *

Blending
soulful vocals with organic folk introspection and irresistible hip-hop
hooks, Ed Sheeran is a genuine global phenomenon. The 24-year-old
British singer-songwriter’s acclaimed
second full length album “x” (pronounced multiply) finds the 6x-GRAMMY
nominee collaborating with a stellar list of producers, including
multiple GRAMMY Award®-winners Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin and Jeff
Bhasker, multiple GRAMMY Award®-nominee Benny Blanco,
Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, and BRIT-Award nominee and longtime
collaborator Jake Gosling. The album has earned Sheeran a remarkable
amount of rapturous press attention, including cover stories in
Billboard and Parade, and the New York Times’ Sunday Arts & Leisure section as well as major feature profiles in
Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Time.  Sheeran launched “x” with a breakout performance on NBC’s “Saturday
Night Live,” followed by other high profile national television
appearances including “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” the famed
outdoor stage on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, and NBC’s “The Voice”
season finale, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and Toyota
Summer Concert Series in Rockefeller Plaza on “Today.”   Moreover, “x”
has drawn critical applause from all corners, with
USA Today hailing it in a four-and-a-half-starred rave as “the
rare album that satisfies expectations while simultaneously raising
them… As good as Sheeran was before, he’s even better now.”
“Mr. Sheeran is a gifted singer with a tender tone and a naturalistic way with storytelling,” declared the
New York Times, adding, “Though he may well be the most
prominent folk-minded singer in contemporary pop, he’s an open-eared
experimenter at core, and saddled with none of the modesty, false or
otherwise, that typically go with the folkie role.” “(Sheeran)
is a polyglot,” noted Time, “raised on folk, R&B,
hip-hop and rock in equal measure and comfortable incorporating each of
those genres into his compositions.”

Sheeran’s
2012 breakthrough debut album, “+,” entered the UK Albums Chart at #1
with the highest opening sales figures for a debut male solo artist
ever and is now certified 6x-platinum. Fueled by international
hit singles like “The A Team” and “Lego House,” “+” has enjoyed
multi-platinum, platinum, and gold sales in nine countries around the
world.  Here in the US, “The A Team” proved a blockbuster,
earning 2x-platinum certification from the RIAA as well as a GRAMMY®
Award nomination as “Song Of The Year.”  Sheeran also made a
record-breaking chart debut with the stateside release of “+,” which
entered the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #5, becoming
the highest debut for a U.K. solo artist’s first full-length album,
since 2009.  Along with his three GRAMMY® nods – including the
prestigious “Best New Artist” – Sheeran has accrued an array of
distinguished international honors, spanning two BRIT Awards
(“Best Male Artist,” “Best Breakthrough Artist”) and the 2012 Ivor
Novello Award for “Best Song Musically and Lyrically.”

Long
acclaimed as a captivating and creative live performer, Sheeran spent
much of the past two years traversing North America on back-to-back
sold-out headline tours, the latter
of which including a stop at the renowned Radio City Music Hall that
sold out in a matter of minutes.  Following a main support role on
Taylor Swift’s massively successful “RED Tour,” Sheeran returned to New
York City for a trio of sold-out headline shows
at the legendary Madison Square Garden to close out his incredible
2013.

Sheeran’s
honest songwriting and incredible live show has also connected with
millions through the small screen with countless high profile television
appearances including the 55th
Annual GRAMMY® Awards (performing “The A Team” accompanied by Sir
Elton John), the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in
London, and as the youngest performer among the star-studded lineup on
CBS’ special “The Beatles:  The Night That Changed
America – A GRAMMY® Salute.”

For additional news and information, please see
www.edsheeran.com,
www.twitter.com/EdSheeran (@EdSheeran),
www.facebook.com/EdSheeranMusic and
www.atlanticrecords.com. Check out #EdOnTour2015 to see what fans are saying about the upcoming tour.

ED SHEERAN

Headlining Tour Dates- 2015

*denotes festival date

MAY

02        New Orleans, LA                    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival*

03        Memphis, TN                         Beale Street Music Festival*

06        Austin, TX                               Frank Erwin Center – SOLD OUT

07        Dallas, TX                               Verizon Theatre at Grande Prairie – SOLD OUT

09        Tulsa, OK                               BOK Center – SOLD OUT

10        St. Louis, MO                          Scottrade Center – SOLD OUT

12        Pittsburgh, PA                        CONSOL Energy Center – SOLD OUT

13        Albany, NY                             Times Union Center – SOLD OUT

15        Las Vegas, NV                                    Rock in Rio USA*

19        Salt Lake City, UT                  Energy
Solutions Arena

23        Uncasville, CT                                    Mohegan Sun Arena – SOLD OUT

24        Bangor, ME                            Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion – SOLD OUT

26        Philadelphia, PA                    the Mann – SOLD OUT

28        Forest Hills, NY                      Forest Hills Stadium – SOLD OUT

29        Forest Hills, NY                      Forest Hills Stadium – SOLD OUT

30        Newark, NJ                             Prudential Center – SOLD OUT

31        Brooklyn, NY                         Barclays Center  - SOLD OUT

JUNE

02        Montreal, QC                          Bell Centre – SOLD OUT

03        Ottawa, ON                             Canadian Tire Centre – SOLD OUT

05        London, ON                            Budweiser Gardens – SOLD OUT

06        Toronto, ON                           Air Canada  Centre – SOLD OUT

07        Canandaigua, NY                   CMAC – SOLD OUT

09        Des Moines, IA                       Wells Fargo Arena

10        Sioux Falls, SD                       Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – SOLD OUT

12        Winnipeg, MB                                    MTS Centre – SOLD OUT

13        Regina, SK                              Brandt Centre – SOLD OUT

14        Edmonton, AB                       Rexall Place – SOLD OUT

16        Saskatoon, SK                                    SaskTel Centre

17        Calgary, AB                            Scotiabank Saddledome – SOLD OUT

19        Vancouver, BC                       Rogers Arena  - SOLD OUT

20        Portland, OR                          Moda Center – SOLD OUT

23         San Diego, CA                            Valley View Casino Center – SOLD OUT

24        Los Angeles, CA                     Hollywood Bowl – SOLD OUT

25        Los Angeles, CA                     Hollywood Bowl – SOLD OUT

26        San Francisco, CA                  Greek Theater at Berkeley –SOLD OUT

29        Denver, CO                             Red Rocks Amphitheatre – SOLD OUT

30        Denver, CO                             Red Rocks Amphitheatre – SOLD OUT

JULY

02        Indianapolis, IN                     Klipsch Amphitheater

03         Milwaukee, WI                         Summerfest*

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