“Everyone can have one hit, but the second one is always the make or break. Everyones watching this time.” -Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is regarded by his peers as one of the best singer/songwriters in the industry, and he has cemented such views with his second album, “X” (pronounced “multiply”).
After Sheeran’s first album “+” (plus) was released in Sept. 2011, it sold 42,000 records in its first week. Since then, Sheeran began to burst into the pop scene. He opened for artists like Taylor Swift, who praised him for his unique songwriting.
In the MTV special “Nine Days and Nights of Ed Sheeran”, released just a few weeks before his second record was released on June 23, 2014, Sheeran highlighted the necessity of achieving success. In the documentary, he explained how his second album would achieve success by becoming much more hip-hop based, yet maintain the same pop and folk characteristics many people loved him for.
Success was achieved when Sheeran sold 5 times more copies of his second album than his first album in the first week of sales . The 210,000 records he sold according to Billboard.com were enough to earn Sheeran his first No.1 album on the Billboard 200, and at only 23 years-old it appears like it won’t be his last No.1 album.
Sheeran molded his songs to mainstream culture without losing his unique appeal. He reached a new dimension with his second record by proving to people that his skills crossed through many genres, from rap to pop with folk influence. The 23 year-old’s acoustic sound offers a pleasant change from the auto-tune dominated market.
Ed opens up his sophmore album with “sing,” a song inspired by industry mogul Pharrell Williams, who believed the song’s upbeat lift could make people ”dance.” He was right. The song has already been Sheeran’s largest American hit, and is praised for being far different from Sheeran’s commonly criticized romanticized sorrow– exhibited throughout his first album.
In “X,” Sheeran attempts to build a holistic identity, testifying to the fact that his ill-guided love narratives are just a piece of the puzzle. Sheeran’s risks of tapping into other genres was gutsy but seemed to pay off, bringing people with different tastes to his music.
As the album progressed, the young fiery-haired British man showed off his spoken-word lyricism in “The Man”. Despite the glimpses of diversification, Sheeran finished in his comfort zone with songs like “Afire Love”, a tribute to his deceased grandfather.
Ed Sheeran’s second record proves his career is promising, especially if he continues to tap into different realms of the music world. Sheeran’s music insight led him to believe, “If you look at people’s careers, if their second record is as big or bigger than their first record, they’re a career artist forever.” If that’s correct, then career artist he will be.