Grammy winner Ed Sheeran is known around the world. As such, it’s no secret that he has a great stage presence and excels at singing, playing the guitar, and songwriting.
In addition to performing his own songs, including “Thinking Out Loud,” the song that earned him two Grammys, Sheeran will occasionally cover a classic.
In 2015, Sheeran was a musical guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He performed “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
Even though nearly everyone has heard this song before, the performance covered everyone in goosebumps. Since his performance on “The Late Show,” one of the videos of his cover has gotten 1.3 million views, further proving his popularity.
As is typically the case, Sheeran not only sang the song but also played his guitar. He was not alone on stage, however; a small five-piece band accompanied him with percussion, wind instruments, and more.
During the performance, it was clear that Sheeran gives every song his all, whether he wrote it himself or it’s a cover.
When Sheeran got to the chorus and most popular verses, he really got into the song.
The performance ended with thunderous applause and smiles from Sheeran, his band, and Colbert.
The performance of “Ain’t No Sunshine” was a prelude to the then-upcoming tribute concert to Bill Withers.
The concert was just a few days later at Carnegie Hall and also featured Sheryl Crow and Amos Lee. During the concert, the musicians performed some of the best-known songs from Withers, and the performance on “The Late Show” almost seemed to serve as a warmup for Sheeran.
This was far from the only time that Sheeran has performed a cover of a classic.
In 2017, Sheeran was a guest on the “Howard Stern Show,” where he performed live covers of more modern songs. He started off with “In Da Club,” originally by 50 Cent, before performing “Yellow” by Coldplay and “No Diggity” by Blackstreet.
That performance served to show just how versatile Sheeran is. Instead of just sticking to the original versions of these songs, he makes them his own. Without more than a few seconds of thought, Sheeran was able to come up with his own cover for “In Da Club.”
The cover of “Yellow” was a bit simpler to tackle since Sheeran had actually performed it with Coldplay in the past. The cover for “No Diggity” was also based on a past performance, when Sheeran and another artist were looking for a cover that they both knew.
Since rising to fame, Sheeran has performed dozens of covers, from classics to music from the late ‘90s and early ‘00s to modern songs.
For example, you can watch him hanging out at a local radio station while performing “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” That cover is just Sheeran and his guitar, but it’s a really fun take on the pop hit. Some may even consider Sheeran’s version to be better than the original – at least in terms of musicality.
Sheeran’s other covers include “Dirrty” by Christina Aguilera; the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song; and songs by 5 Seconds of Summer, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Rihanna, Hailee Steinfeld, and Sam Smith. Some of these covers were in the recording studio, some on stage, and some in a much more relaxed environment.
While you might not catch Sheeran performing a cover, you might still be able to watch him perform live, depending on where you live.
Sheeran has upcoming tour dates around the world. In 2019, he will be in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, Finland, and Denmark – and that is just up until July. He has many more European tour stops planned, including those throughout the UK.
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