His unassuming nature makes him so endearing to a wide range of audience.
As Ed Sheeran himself puts it in “What Do I Know?”—the uplifting 10th track of his latest album, “÷ (Divide)”—he’s “just a boy with a one-man show.”
True to form, the British singer-songwriter took the stage at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds last week with neither a musician nor a singer in tow. All he had with him was a loop station, his guitars and a bulletproof repertoire.
“My favorite way of enjoying a concert is by singing so much you end up leaving without voice. If you know the songs, sing! If you don’t, well then make up the words and sing … as loud as you all can,” he told the thousands of screaming revelers before him.
They obliged. Not that they needed any imploring and reminding.
The fans—or the Sheerios—jumped up and down as Ed reminisced about his youth in the small town of Framlingham, in the energetic opener, “Castle on the Hill.” They erupted into chants toward the end of the hip-hop-inflected “Eraser,” which had Ed furiously tapping on his guitar.
Ed Sheeran feels the love of Manila’s Sheerios. —PHOTO COURTESY OF OVATION PRODUCTIONS
In “The A Team,” a tender folk ballad about a prostitute addicted to crack, the audience turned into a sea of twinkling lights.
Despite not having a band for musical accompaniment, the 27-year-old artist produced textured instrumentation with his loop pedals, which he used to record and sample passages of his strumming; it allowed him to layer his vocals and cloak his melodies with weaved beats and electronic riffs.
This setup and technique were particularly indispensable to his more exuberant numbers, like his mashup of “Don’t” and “New Man”; the danceable funk-R&B bop “Sing,” which was sung mostly in falsetto; the springy Irish jig-esque “Galway Girl,” which showcased Ed’s effortful, but adequate rapping; and the pop-folk anthem “I’m a Mess,” whose stomping beats prompted rhythmic clapping from the audience.
“I knew when I came here that we will have the loudest crowd. I want to hear you to give me the biggest, biggest, biggest roar!” Ed hollered, pumping up everyone even more. “Scream!”
It was, however, when he turned to his romantic and sentimental balladry that he completely enraptured the audience.
He carries himself as if he were still busking on the streets. —PHOTOS COURTESY OF SMART MUSIC LIVE
“Tenerife Sea” was soothingly elegant, which was probably the reason he loves playing it at a breezy open-air setting.
“Photograph,” on the other hand, highlighted his earnest, wistful singing and his use of vocal breaks to heighten emotions.
When his new hit ballad, the syrupy “Perfect,” came on, a hush fell over the audience.
And, for a moment, Ed made it seem like we weren’t standing at an expansive parking lot, but sitting at a bar, watching him play an intimate gig.
Ed has been one of the biggest pop stars for the past five years. But still, he carries himself as if he were still busking on the streets—he wore a plain black T-shirt and equally plain pair of jeans and sneakers.
And it’s perhaps this unassuming nature that makes him so endearing to a wide range of audience.
“The Philippines is a country that has so much passion for music, especially music from overseas. I feel very welcome and loved here… I’m really, really grateful to be here,” Ed said early on in the concert, which was mounted by Ovation Productions and Smart Music Live.
He may have uttered the same thing in each of the prior stops of his “Divide” tour. But he said it with such earnestness that it may have very well been the first.