Popular British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is bringing his talents stateside with the release of his album “+” and North American performances scheduled for this fall.
21 year-old Sheeran is known for his soulful acoustic music and accredits his sound to fellow musicians Damien Rice and Bob Dylan. According to US Today, the musician was discovered through online programmer SBTV which features viral videos from up-and-comers. As a result of being featured on the website his EP “No. 5 Collaborations Projects” jumped to No. 2 on iTunes. Sheeran’s official rise to stardom came with the release of his 2011 single “The A-Team,” which reached No. 3 on the United Kingdom singles chart.
“+,” Sheeran’s first studio album, was released in the U.K. in September 2011 and debuted at No. 1, according to Reuters. This May he took to Twitter to announce yet another achievement: “Very happy to announce my debut album ‘+’ has now gone quadruple platinum in the U.K.” The album which is in its tenth month since release currently sits at the No. 2 spot on the Official U.K. Albums chart, according to Billboard.
While it is unclear if fans in the United States can propell him to similar heights, early predictions from Billboard had the album coming in “around 40,000 to 50,000, which should enable a debut somewhere in the top five.” The official announcement, revealed Wednesday, June 20 on Billboard.com, had Sheeran’s debut at 42,00 albums sold putting him in the No. 5 position on Billboard 200. Billboard reports that this is the “highest debut for a U.K. solo artist’s first full length album since Susan Boyle’s ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ bowed at No. 1 on Dec. 12, 2009.”
To support his album release in the U.S. Sheeran teamed up with VH1’s You Oughta Know Tour to headline his first North American tour, which is scheduled to kick off on September 19 at the House of Blues in Boston, MA. The tour is scheduled to make stops in 12 major cities across North America wrapping up in Seattle, WA on October 6. Tickets for the the tour went on sale earlier this month and were sold in a bundle package containing a copy of “+” as well as a download of his previous EP, “The A Team,” according to VH1.
USA Today reports that the You Oughta Know Tour has already sold-out. This comes as no surprise after his two New York City shows — June 11-12 in celebration of his album release — sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale.
Sheeran is just one of many British artists who have recently broken into the United States music industry. Adele is arguably the most successful U.K. artist in the U.S. at this time. Her album “21,” which has been out 69 weeks now, is currently No. 3 on Billboard 200. While bands The Wanted and One Direction have also found success and currently have singles in the Top 15 of Billboard’s Hot 100. The craze behind One Direction led to a sold out 2012 tour and their 2013 World Tour. With the ticket demand so high the band released tickets for additional tour dates on Saturday, June 16, which didn’t last long either.
Sheeran who just came off of winning two Brit Awards and performing at the Queen’s Jubilee concert is primed to have similar success.