New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) Atlantic recording artist Ed Sheeran's new single "
Thinking Out Loud" has skyrocketed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning the acclaimed singer-songwriter the highest charting U.S. single of his career so far. "
Thinking Out Loud" - the third single from Sheeran's chart-topping, RIAA-Gold certified album "x" (pronounced multiply) - follows back-to-back RIAA-certified Platinum singles "Sing" and "
Don't" which respectively peaked at #13 and #9 on the Hot 100; Sheeran's 2012 multiplatinum, breakout hit "
The A Team" peaked at #16 on the chart. Already a global smash, "
Thinking Out Loud" has gone to #1 in 6 countries around the world, including his native United Kingdom. U.S. sales for "
Thinking Out Loud" surpasses the 500,000 mark this week, almost immediately following the single's launch here which included high profile performances of the song on CBS' "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" last week and the season finale of NBC's "
The Voice" this past Tuesday (https://bit.ly/13bj1VJ). The single's beautifully-shot companion music video (https://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA) -- directed by longtime collaborator Emil Nava -- has already amassed over 86 million views and features Sheeran ballroom dancing, a skill he learned through intensive, five-hour training sessions over the course of ten days during the North American leg of his worldwide arena tour. "
Thinking Out Loud" is quickly ascending the radio charts with airplay on the biggest Top 40 and Adult stations in the country.
Already a 3x-GRAMMY nominee, Sheeran recently received three more nominations for the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards, including nods for "x" in the categories of "Best Pop Vocal Album" and the highly coveted "Album of the Year." Sheeran's song "
I See Fire" from the feature film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug also received a nomination for "Best Song Written For Visual Media." Sheeran's previous GRAMMY nominations include nods for "Best New Artist" and "Song of the Year." Earlier this week, Sheeran took home the award for "British Artist of the Year" at the inaugural BBC
Music Awards in London, beating out a credible group of nominees that included the legendary
David Bowie and rising star Sam Smith, among others. Stateside, Sheeran is also currently nominated for the 2015 People's Choice Awards in the categories of "Favorite Male Artist" and "Favorite Album."
In addition to recently being named one of Billboard's Top 10 Albums of 2014, "x" is also one of the year's most successful releases, topping the iTunes charts in 83 territories and going to #1 in 14 countries around the world, including the United States and United Kingdom, where the multiplatinum collection is also the biggest and fastest selling album of the year.
Sheeran is currently in the midst of a worldwide headlining tour which has already sold out arenas all over the globe, including 4 nights at London's O2 Arena. The tour will conclude with 3 sold out shows at London's Wembley Stadium next summer.
Blending soulful vocals with organic folk introspection and irresistible hip-hop hooks,
Ed Sheeran is a genuine global phenomenon. The 23-year-old British singer-songwriter's acclaimed second full length album "x" (pronounced multiply) finds the 6x-GRAMMY nominee collaborating with a stellar list of producers, including multiple GRAMMY Award®-winners Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin and Jeff Bhasker, multiple GRAMMY Award®-nominee Benny Blanco, Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, and BRIT-Award nominee and longtime collaborator Jake Gosling. The album has earned Sheeran a remarkable amount of rapturous press attention, including cover stories in Billboard and Parade, and the New York Times' Sunday Arts & Leisure section as well as major feature profiles in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Time. Sheeran launched "x" with a breakout performance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," followed by other high profile national television appearances including "The
Ellen DeGeneres Show," the famed outdoor stage on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", and NBC's "
The Voice" season finale, "The
Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and Toyota Summer Concert Series in
Rockefeller Plaza on "Today." 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."
Sheeran's 2012 breakthrough debut album, "+," entered the UK Albums Chart at #1 with the highest opening sales figures for a debut male solo artist ever and is now certified 6x-platinum. Fueled by international hit singles like "
The A Team" and "Lego House," "+" has enjoyed multi-platinum, platinum, and gold sales in nine countries around the world. Here in the US, "
The A Team" proved a blockbuster, earning 2x-platinum certification from the RIAA as well as a GRAMMY® Award nomination as "Song Of The Year." Sheeran also made a record-breaking chart debut with the stateside release of "+," which entered the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #5, becoming the highest debut for a U.K. solo artist's first full-length album, since 2009. Along with his three GRAMMY® nods -- including the prestigious "Best New Artist" -- Sheeran has accrued an array of distinguished international honors, spanning two BRIT Awards ("Best Male Artist," "Best Breakthrough Artist") and the 2012 Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically."
Long acclaimed as a captivating and creative live performer, Sheeran spent much of the past two years traversing North
America on back-to-back sold-out headline tours, the latter of which including a stop at the renowned
Radio City
Music Hall that sold out in a matter of minutes. Following a main support role on Taylor Swift's massively successful "RED Tour," Sheeran returned to New York City for a trio of sold-out headline shows at the legendary Madison
Square Garden to close out his incredible 2013.
Sheeran's honest songwriting and incredible live show has also connected with millions through the small screen with countless high profile television appearances including the 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards (performing "
The A Team" accompanied by Sir Elton John), the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and as the youngest performer among the star-studded lineup on CBS' special "The Beatles: The Night That Changed
America -- A GRAMMY Salute."
For additional news and information, please see www.edsheeran.com, www.twitter.com/EdSheeran (@EdSheeran), www.facebook.com/EdSheeranMusic and www.top40-charts.com.
