Ed Sheeran - X

Gatefold double LP

Limited edition heavyweight dark green vinyl

"Ed Sheeran may appear an unconventional pop star but he has genuinely great songs." — The Telegraph (U.K.)

The second full-length release for the British singer-songwriter features collaborations and production from Benny Blanco, Johnny McDaid, Pharrell Williams, and Rick Rubin. X – which stands for multiply – includes the lead single “Sing,” which was inspired by Justin Timberlake, with production and added vocals by Pharrell.

Ed Sheeran is blessed — he seems to know exactly where he is going, and exactly how to get there. Where countless others fail to make an impression amid today's information overload, Ed's music and talent cut straight through. He has a poise that is as welcome as it is unusual in someone so young. He's both utterly self-assured but still charmingly open.

It's a little glib to call Sheeran the U.K.'s answer to Jason Mraz, writes AllMusic.com yet there's a grain of truth in that statement. Like Mraz, Sheeran plays around with hip-hop cadences but at his core he's a singer/songwriter, and a sensitive one at that, one who prefers love tunes to songs of protest, something that is quite evident on X.

Although he sometimes pours out his heart armed with no more than an acoustic guitar, he's not a troubadour; those hip-hop roots means he'll not only ramble out a rap, but he's also quite comfortable with luxurious, shimmering textures and buoyant melodies. Naturally, these traits surface clearly on "Sing," a collaboration with Pharrell Williams that contains some of the natural ebullience of "Happy," along with the upscale whitebread rap of "The Man," but this good cheer surfaces on songs that are far removed from rhythm. When Sheeran sings slow, he rarely sings sad: he's a hybrid of Chris Martin and David Grey, a boy next door who hasn't lost his shaggy romanticism.

Ed Sheeran Awards:
• 2012 Brit Award Winner for Breakthrough Artist and British Male Solo Artist
• Q Awards Best Breakthrough (won)
• iTunes Breakthrough 2011 (won)
• Q Awards Best Video (nomination)
• Q Awards Best Male (nomination)