Ed Sheeran and the mathematical theme of his albums

Ed Sheeran was only 11 when he wrote his first song. Since then he has really grown as a singer-songwriter, musician and actor. His first song, The A-Team, was written after he visited a homeless shelter and heard the stories of some of the inmates. To date, his fans think that this raw emotional song is the best that he has ever written. This song catapulted him to fame and hit the charts in various countries in Europe, including in Australia. It won a Grammy nomination.

From the beginning he has used mathematical symbols to name his albums. He began with a + (plus), then came the X. It was his choice not to put his face on album covers because he did not want to look like a poster boy. So, he decided that he wanted to play with colours and symbols and thus emerged + (plus) as his first album.

After his debut single The A-Team from his album + came his 2011 hit, Lego House, followed by Give Me Love in 2012. For his second album, X, he earned an album of the year nomination at the Grammy awards. Although he won his first Grammy only in 2016 for Thinking Out Loud.

His third album ‘Divide’ in no way divided his record sales. Instead, Divide turned out to have the best worldwide sales for any album in 2017. It also won him two more Grammy awards for his best known song, Shape Of You. It broke all kinds of records on several platforms.

His fourth album = (Equals) which had him experimenting with different sounds had five singles. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, it quickly climbed to the top of the charts in Europe, Australia, UK and the US.

Ed Sheeran is finally finished with his mathematical equations with his last album Subtract, which was released this Friday on May 5, 2023. Ironically, he spent the whole of last week fighting a copyright violation charge, but the ruling went in his favour. Subtract has given him sweet victory and it is already getting praise across the world. In one review, it has been called a profound album steeped in grief.