Ed Sheeran hits 2bn Spotify streams, returns for second 2015 Aussie run
Ed Sheeran has become the first British artist to hit two billion streams on Spotify. He is the second artist to reach that milestone, after Eminem. However Sheeran achieved it with two albums, while the US rapper did it over eight.
In 2014, Sheeran was the most streamed artist on Spotify, which claims 60 million users globally.
The 24-year-old beat outScottish DJ Calvin Harris for the honour, after Harris hit 1 billion streams last September.
The singer songwriter’s home country record company GM, Atlantic UK’sMark Mitchell said last night,"Ed achieving two billion streams on just two albums is a phenomenal achievement. It not only highlights the popularity of his timeless sound and the explosive growth of his army of fans, it also demonstrates how great music can be successful on all formats.
“He’s already topped charts around the world with x but we’re not stopping, he’s midway through his world tour and we’re still working as hard as ever to help him smash even more records.”
In the United States, Thinking Out Loud sold 2.6 million units by February. Although it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, late last month it became the fourth song ever to simultaneously top the magazine’s Pop Songs, Adult Pop Songs, and Adult Contemporary charts. In the UK it had streamed 1.8 million times by late December.
Part of Sheeran’s global appeal could be the soothing texture of his music.Last week Spotify revealed that Thinking Out Loud was the most streamed track (2.8 million), in Australia and globally, on its specific ‘sleep’ playlist. He had six other songs on the Top 20 list. Dr. Max Hirshkowitz of America’s National Sleep Foundation explained, “People tend to gravitate toward mellow, laid back vocals between the baritone and tenor range—similar to why lullabies are effective for helping people relax.”
In the meantime, just as he wound up his 17 sold out arena shows in Australia and New Zealand (playing close to 190,000 over March and April), Frontier Touring announced Sheeran will return in November and December upgrading this time to a stadium run. This will be his fifth visit in four years. His + and x albums are 5 x Platinum for sales of 350,000 each and are both in the ARIA Top 10 this week. The Bloodstream single has just been certified Gold.
Frontier hails these as “his biggest shows yet”, adding he would “[become]the first ever musician to perform an Australian and New Zealand stadium tour entirely solo. Every single sound on stage will be produced by his voice, guitar and a series of loop pedals, filling the stadiums with hypnotising layers of sound.”
Sheeran told the NZ Herald, "Moving to stadium shows is pretty nuts for me. It's definitely going to be a better set. It will be more polished. I've still got to plan it – but it's going to be good."
The second 2015 run sees him at:
Sat 28 Nov – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Wed 2 Dec – nib Stadium Perth
Sat 5 Dec – AAMI Park, Melbourne
Wed 9 Dec – Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Sat 12 Dec – Mt Smart Stadium,Auckland
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