Thought it was impossible to love Ed Sheeran more? Wait until you watch his performance at Philly Jam last night. The adorable songwriter stopped for a brief interview before starting his set, and showed off love for Philadelphia by revealing a “Fresh Prince” tattoo. As the closing act for the show, the British performer also put up with a few jokes about celebrating America’s freedom from his home country.
Beginning his set with “Don’t,” it became apparent that The Roots were going to add incredible depth to Sheeran’s acoustic jams. Ed himself added an extra dig to the already scathing break-up song by singing a line from Chris Brown‘s “Loyal” toward the end. Ouch!
From there he performed the moving “Lego House” and then opted to do a cover. “Since we’re here on the 4th of July I thought I’d do a cover of an American tune,” Sheeran said, before breaking into the Anthony Hamilton’s R&B classic “Comin’ From Where I’m From.”
But after playing a song that most of the crowd probably didn’t know, Ed knew it was time for one that everyone knew the words to—that’d be his breakout single “A Team.” He played the song acoustic, with only his guitar for accompaniment, and the crowd felt the weight of the song’s message.
In the middle of the track, Ed asked that everyone hold up a lighter, cell phone or other flashing light becuase he wanted to see “a sea of lights” and they responded in kind. Even watching the video, the emotion in the stadium is palpable.
But not one to leave on a sad note, Ed closed out the night by playing “Sing,” the uplifting single from his new album X. Despite the earlier emotional vibes, the night ended with a giant, upbeat sing-a-long. Watch it all below beginning at the 1:37 mark.
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