I voted for the second option and I don't really get how anyone could disagree with it but whatever....
John Mayer without the blues chops. Nice to see an artist with pop success playing the guitar, even a little bit, I suppose. Nothing he's done is bad, necessarily.
The poll is missing an option: Talented songwriter who once had great promise, but has had a greater fall than Coldplay from releasing some of the most unredeemable sh!t in the history of popular music
Same! He worked from nothing, 'busking' his way to the top. He has written hit songs and had hit albums and his audience love them. There are not many people that can fill and hold a stadium for hours with a guitar and effect pedals. Probably one of the nicest guys in the business, who's courteous and kind and does an excellent interview. For a young fella, he has bought a lot of properties in Real Estate, and even at this point, will never be short of a quid. Smart operator. He's known to spend 6 months of a year doing whatever he wants, travelling, holidaying, and refuses to have a cell phone. Married his childhood girlfriend and has a family. He sounds like my hero, and I'm not a fan of his music. I think a lot of people here have low balled their answers in the poll without really knowing who Ed Sherran is. Too many 'It's not McCartney, so it has to be a 1 out of 5' syndrome.
Give Ed a break. He's just a fortunate young man, laughing at a bunch of broken, talentless old men yelling at clouds.
I don't know what I expected out of this and the Adele thread of similar contents ha. It is easy to extrapolate the result of taking a forum of people mostly over the age of 40-50, and asking for opinions on artists decades younger, making music and a part of the pop charts for people decades younger
Changed my initial vote of mediocre to the "accomplished artist of his generation" after some thought. In comparison to some of his contemporary peers, he probably really is one of the best this generation has to offer. Take that as you may. I'm not even middle aged, but younger folks on this forum "calling out boomers" for being stuck in the past always gives me a laugh. It's funny how they always assume you must be 40 or 60 if you don't find the music of today that interesting.
Hey! I resemble that remark!......well, I'm only a casual Beatles fan. I think it speaks volumes that whenever this fellas name pops up the first thing you tend to hear is..."he seems like a really nice guy you know?", usually followed by "he writes his own stuff too!" ..... the quality of the work? eh...not so much. I cant imagine ever trying to defend an artist I like (if I cared enough to) in such a way.... Makes no difference to me how popular he is since I never hear his music anyway (I work from home, no exposure to daytime radio is arguably the biggest perk) but I am genuinely intrigued how he became so popular, I'm presuming his "everyman" thing is what did the trick, the fact he was a busker with a guitar at one point makes people think he's more authentic or something.....I dunno There's been a disconnect between what's hugely popular with the general public, and what's been popular with the kind of music obsessives we have here for example for a very long time now, this is just a continuation of that I suppose...
I opted for mediocre because his music honestly means nothing to me. I find it totally unmemorable. But I’m not part of his fan demographic: if you’re under 30, you’re more likely to get it. He comes across very well as a person, I must say.
I like Sheeran, but I'm not really a fan of the male singer/songwriter thing. So he doesn't really interest me all that much. I don't mind him one bit and I do like his voice and his phrasing techniques. I also realize that here, if you're not somehow as good as The Beatles, you're likely thought as trash. This appears to be the case here.
Great performer...no doubts there whatsoever. Really warmed to him in the Yesterday movie. For me, the songs don't connect. Maybe if I go back to the first album there will be something there I enjoy, in the same way I prefer 19 to what followed. Edit: Forgot the A Team....really like that.
He's a good busker who got lucky. His music lacks originality and a string of plagiarism cases attests to that. His chart success far exceeds his talents. It's a dangerous thing to compare statistics for current generation artists with classic 60s and 70s acts. The world is a very different place, our relationship with "popular" music and music in general is far more mainstream and central to our culture. Far more people on the planet are consuming more music and the worlds population is comparatively richer. Robbie Williams is another example of this phenomenon- he has won more Brit Awards than any other artist- a complete joke. Time will be the ultimate arbiter - will Ed still be highly ranked in 20 years time or like Robbie Williams will he disappear up his reverb pedal?
History repeats itself. Life goes round in circles. When Elvis & The Beatles came on, they were seen by serious music aficionados as hilarious youngester crap. A cheap way for the youth to enjoy themselves. A smart way for smart businessmen to make a quick buck. REAL grown-up people didn’t listen to that kind of ‘non’-music. Young men with wierd haircuts. Helpless on their instruments and trying make it sound like black people. A serious music lover listened to Jazz. It may be created by black society, but at least it was not ‘dumb’ and simple. Now, over half-a-century later, those ‘youngsters’ sits in their chair with a whiskey and listening to their own generations ‘serious’ music. Pointing fingers at music loved by the youth. Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' And you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin' ————————————————- Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don't criticize What you can't understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly agin' Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changin'
Like the vast majority of modern chart music I’ve heard, which admittedly is not that much, Ed Sheeran does nothing for me at all. But I’m in my 50s, it’s not meant to. It’s no different to my parents thinking the stuff I listened to in the 70s (Led Zeppelin, Rush etc.) was ‘just noise’.
I think the second option is objectively true. As a solo act with no backing band he sold out Wembley Stadium for three nights. The only thing bigger in the UK would be his own Knebworth show. (Glastonbury attracts huge crowds irrespective of whoever is headlining). Time will tell if he maintains any sort of momentum or if his music is memorable. I mean, Take That had an impresive second life that exceeded their first incaranation.
