As people filed in to the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. to catch the Snow Patrol show, most of them weren't aware that there was a superstar from the UK in the house. Ed Sheeran is a multi-Brit award winner and Elton John protégé. His videos have amassed tens of millions of views on YouTube.
And yet in the U.S., Ed Sheeran is only getting started. He took to the stage at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. with honesty and humility. He shouted out his parents who'd flown out from the UK to attend the show and he politely introduced himself to the crowd, "And for those of you who don't know me, my name's Ed Sheeran."
But the seemingly polite and shy singer also wasn't afraid to dirty things up a bit, like when he mashed up 50 Cent's "In the Club" or when he led the crowd to chant KRS One's "Sound of da Police." His mix of acoustic soul, hip-hop, reggae and pop went over well and if the crowd didn't know his name at the onset of the show, they definitely did by the end of his set.
Sheeran performed 5 songs — "Give Me Love," "Lego House," "Wayfaring Stranger," "A-Team" and "You Need Me I Don't Need You" — which were mostly from his debut album +. He bolstered his songs with improv, interactive portions of the show and he got the audience to sing and participate in the spectacle. Yet for all of the big crowd moments, he also managed to make the event intimate, like when he had the entire 9:30 Club go silent so he could sing the end of "Wayfaring Stranger" acapella with no mic.
By the time Ed wrapped up the show his set with the defiant "You Need Me, I Don't Need You," he'd proven that nice guys can finish first. And that the music can sometimes speak for itself.
Check out a few videos from Ed's performance below.
