I remember when I was a freshman in high school when Ed Sheeran was only starting to achieve mass stardom. A few of us knew his amazing songs, but then the number of his fans kept Multiply-ing (get it?) and he became the international success we see today. I had the privilege of seeing him for the second time in concert last week, and I’ve listened to very little of any other artist since. I just love how versatile he is, from romantic slow songs, to upbeat pop songs, to even rapping and cocky, he really can do it all. Another thing I love about him is how he writes all his own songs, and so many! I have all his albums but just this past week I heard two I have never heard before, where do all of these even come from? Since it can be easy to miss out on some of his major bops shuffling through all of them, I’ve made a list of his most underrated songs from his albums.
+
+ (Plus) is one of Ed’s first albums. It came out in 2011, and this is the main album my friends and I were jamming out to freshman year of high school. The main features on this album are The A Team and Lego House. Some of the underrated ones are:
Drunk (upbeat)
U.N.I. (mellow but with mild raps)
Grade 8 (upbeat and soft)
Give Me Love (romantic and intense)
Sunburn (slow and a little sad)
You Need Me, I Don’t Need You (rap, fast, fun, edgy) (like seriously, listen to it, especially a live version!)
5
5 came out in 2014 and I feel like it got little to no media attention. It does also have some of the same songs on + so it may be just be an extension of +. Some songs you’ve probably never heard but definitely need to are:
Homeless (mellow with mild raps)
Sofa (romantic, upbeat, and happy)
One Night (mellow and fun)
Cold Coffee (soft and mellow)
X and X (Wembley Edition)
I would argue X (Multiply) (2014) is the first album Ed made when he was an international success. + had some hits and probably most people knew about him but by X everyone did. The most popular songs from this one are Thinking Out Loud, Photograph, and Don’t. This album is probably my favorite so many undiscovered gems on here in my opinion, including:
One (slow and romantic, kind of sad)
I’m A Mess (upbeat and fun)
Nina (upbeat, mellow, mild raps)
Bloodstream (mellow and then intense)
Runaway (upbeat)
Afire Love (sad and intense)
Tenerife Sea (slow and romantic)
I See Fire (slow and intense)
Touch and Go (upbeat and fun)
÷
÷ (Divide) is Ed’s newest album that came out last year. Most popular songs from this one include Perfect, Shape of You, and Castle on the Hill. Other major bops include:
Galway Girl (Irish folk and super upbeat)
New Man (funny and upbeat)
Nancy Mulligan (upbeat and romantic)
Eraser (mild rap, edgy)
Barcelona (fast, upbeat and fun)
Happier (sad but powerful)
Another great way to experience your favorites in a new light is to listen to the live versions. Ed is amazing live and will change up the song or sample another song within it. Whenever he performs it’s only him, his guitar, and his loop pedal so you know he’s beyond all the theatrics of performing, relying only on sheer(an) talent. Check all his songs you’ll be glad you did!
*Pictures from giphy.com, Pinterest, Album Art Exchange, WordPress, and Noise11