Ed Sheeran Album Debuts At #1

ED SHEERAN’S “x” = #1;

ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM DEBUTS ATOP SOUNDSCAN/BILLBOARD 200 WITH RECORD-BREAKING SALES;

3X-GRAMMY® NOMINEE TO CELEBRATE WITH JULY 4TH PERFORMANCES
ON NBC’S TODAY AND VH1’S PHILLY 4TH OF JULY JAM;

EXCLUSIVE LIVE FACEBOOK Q&A HOSTED BY BEATS MUSIC ON JULY 3RD;
NEW SINGLE “DON’T” AT RADIO OUTLETS NATIONWIDE NOW;

NORTH AMERICAN ARENA TOUR KICKS OFF AUGUST 21st IN SEATTLE;
“x” IS AVAILABLE NOW

“x,” the acclaimed new album from Atlantic recording artist Ed Sheeran, has made a spectacular chart debut, entering the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #1. With sales in excess of 208,000 units, “x” – pronounced “multiply” – has scored the biggest first week for a pop album this year and 3rd highest overall.

What’s more, “x” is a truly global sensation, debuting atop album charts in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, United Arab Emirates and Sheeran’s own United Kingdom, where it has proven the fastest selling album of the year thus far, with first week sales in excess of 182,000.
Sheeran will mark the phenomenal success of “x” by headlining a special Independence Day edition of NBC’s TODAY Toyota Concert Series, to be broadcast live from New York City’s Rockefeller Center on Friday, July 4th (check local listings). Later that night, the 3x-GRAMMY Award®-nominated artist will perform at The Philly 4th of July Jam, simulcast live on VH1 and Palladia starting at 8pm ET. The event – which will also be live-streamed on PhillyJam.VH1.com and the VH1 App – features Philadelphia’s own The Roots as the house band and a star-studded lineup that also includes Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, and Aloe Blacc.

“Don’t,” the next single from “x,” is currently impacting multi-format radio outlets nationwide (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TqGEbROFd4). First unveiled as part of Sheeran’s memorable appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, the track shot to #1 on the US iTunes Overall Singles chart upon its release last month and is also featured in the ad campaign for Beats by Dre’s “Beats Solo 2” headphones. The recently-released commercial has already drawn more than 6 million individual views at the official Beats by Dre YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wZKyrq4jBM. “Don’t” follows the remarkable success of lead single “Sing” which arrived earlier this spring and instantly rocketed into the top 5 at Hot AC radio outlets nationwide while also ascending the top 10 at CHR/Pop and the top 15 on the overall Billboard “Hot 100.” Produced and co-written by multiple GRAMMY Award®-winner Pharrell Williams, the track has also proven Sheeran’s first ever #1 on Australia’s “ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart” and the UK Top 40 singles chart (following four prior top 10 smashes). In addition, the recently released “Sing” companion video is approaching 15 million views at Ed’s official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlYcUqEPN58.
Tomorrow (July 3rd) beginning at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, fans will have an opportunity to chat with Sheeran directly via an exclusive live Q&A hosted on the Beats Music Facebook page (www.facebook.com/beatsmusic). The following day, Beats Music will premiere the track “Friends” – previously only available as a b-side in the UK – and serve as the exclusive streaming partner in the US for the subsequent week.

Fast becoming one of the planet’s most popular live performers, Sheeran will spend his summer starring at festivals around the world before embarking on his first-ever North American headlining arena tour, set to begin August 21st at Seattle’s WaMu Theater and then travel through mid-September. Big Beat/Atlantic labelmates Rudimental will be supporting on all dates (see attached itinerary). Sheeran was recently unveiled as the first announced performer at the 4th annual iHeartRadio Music Festival & Village, returning to Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on September 19th and 20th. Additional tour dates will be announced soon – for up-to-the-minute ticket information and tour updates, please visit www.edsheeran.com.

The follow-up to Sheeran’s breakthrough debut album “+,” “x” finds the British singer-songwriter collaborating with a stellar list of producers, including multiple GRAMMY Award®-winners Rick Rubin and Jeff Bhasker, multiple GRAMMY Award®-nominee Benny Blanco, Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, and BRIT-Award nominee and “+” collaborator Jake Gosling. The album has earned Sheeran a remarkable amount of rapturous press attention, including cover stories in Billboard and Parade, as well as major feature profiles in Entertainment Weekly, Time, and the cover of the New York Times’ Sunday Arts & Leisure section. The upcoming summer issue of Vibe – hitting newsstands on July 22nd – will see him starring on the cover alongside rising rappers August Alsina and Mack Wilds.
Moreover, “x” has drawn critical applause from all corners, with USA Today hailing it in a four-and-a-half-starred rave as “the rare album that satisfies expectations while simultaneously raising them… As good as Sheeran was before, he’s even better now.” “Mr. Sheeran is a gifted singer with a tender tone and a naturalistic way with storytelling,” declared the New York Times, adding, “Though he may well be the most prominent folk-minded singer in contemporary pop, he’s an open-eared experimenter at core, and saddled with none of the modesty, false or otherwise, that typically go with the folkie role.” “(Sheeran) is a polyglot,” noted Time, “raised on folk, R&B, hip-hop and rock in equal measure and comfortable incorporating each of those genres into his compositions.”