Ed Sheeran’s mix of old-school troubadour and Top 40 technician has made him one of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century. Born into an artistic family – his father was a curator, his mother worked in a gallery–Sheeran began playing guitar and writing songs at a young age. He recorded an album when he was 14, built an online following posting songs on YouTube, and released his official debut + (or Plus) in 2011. His audience and market share grew with each subsequent album: 2014’s x (Multiply) spawned hits like “Photograph” and “Thinking Out Loud,” and 2017’s + (Divide) contained “Shape of You,” which debuted at Number One in the US charts. Subsequent successful albums have included  2021’s = (Equals), as well as (Minus) and Autumn Variations, both from 2023.

A friend and peer of superstars like Taylor Swift, Eric Clapton, and Elton John, the singe-songwriter became a multi-millionaire in the 2010s, even as he maintained a regular-bloke image and media-shy personal life. Sheeran, who was married in 2019 and has two children, has been open about struggling with substance issues and trying to curtail his drinking since becoming a parent. In 2023, was won a high-profile copyright lawsuit based around allegations that his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" borrowed without permission from Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On." The same year told Rolling Stone he plans on releasing five more symbol-themed albums, the last of which will be a posthumous LP. — Jon Dolan