Edward Christopher Sheeran ( SHEER-ən; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play No.5 Collaborations Project. He signed with Asylum Records the same year. Sheeran's debut album, + ("Plus") (2011), topped the UK Albums Chart and featured his breakout hit, "The A Team". His second studio album, × ("Multiply") (2014), became the second-best-selling album worldwide of 2015 and won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year. Its third single, "Thinking Out Loud", won two Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. That same year, he established his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records. Sheeran's third album, ÷ ("Divide") (2017), became the best-selling album worldwide of 2017 and charted ten top-10 singles on the UK singles chart. Its joint-lead singles, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", broke records in several countries by debuting in the top two positions on the charts, while its fourth single, "Perfect", reached number one in the US, Australia, and the UK. The world's best-selling artist of 2017, he was named the Global Recording Artist of the Year. His next albums, No.6 Collaborations Project (2019), = ("Equals") (2021) and − ("Subtract") (2023) each topped the charts in most major markets. During this period, he accumulated seven UK number-one singles: "I Don't Care", "Beautiful People", "Take Me Back to London", "Bad Habits", "Shivers", "Merry Christmas" and "Eyes Closed". He has since released the albums Autumn Variations (2023) and Play (2025) to varying critical and commercial success. Sheeran has sold 200 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has 119 million RIAA-certified units in the US, and two of his albums are in the list of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. In December 2019, the Official Charts Company named him its artist of the decade, with the most combined success in the UK album and singles charts in the 2010s. As of September 2026, he is the fourth-most-followed artist on Spotify. Several of his tours are amongst the most-attended concert tours, and his ÷ Tour became the highest-grossing of all time in August 2019. An alumnus of the National Youth Theatre in London, Sheeran's acting roles include appearing in the 2019 film Yesterday, playing himself. In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.