Claim: Ed Sheeran was raised in a market town.

Edward Christopher `` Ed '' Sheeran -LRB- born 17 February 1991 -RRB- is an English singer-songwriter , guitarist and record producer . He was born in Halifax , West Yorkshire , and raised in Framlingham , Suffolk . He attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford , Surrey , as an undergraduate from the age of 18 in autumn 2009 . In early 2011 , Sheeran independently released the extended play , No. 5 Collaborations Project . After signing with Asylum Records , his debut album , + -LRB- read as `` plus '' -RRB- , was released on 9 September 2011 and has since been certified seven-times platinum in the UK . The album contains the single `` The A Team '' , which earned him the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically . In 2012 , Sheeran won the Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act .   Sheeran 's popularity abroad began in 2012 . In the US , he made a guest appearance on Taylor Swift 's fourth studio album , Red . `` The A Team '' was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards , where he performed the song with Elton John . He spent much of 2013 opening for Swift 's The Red Tour in North America dates . His second studio album , x -LRB- read as `` multiply '' -RRB- , was released on 23 June 2014 . It peaked at number one in the UK and the US . In 2015 , x won the Brit Award for Album of the Year , and he received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year . His single from x , `` Thinking Out Loud '' , earned him two Grammy Awards at the 2016 ceremony : Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance .   Sheeran 's third album , ÷ -LRB- `` divide '' -RRB- , was released in March 2017 . The album debuted at number one in the UK , the US and other major markets . The first two singles from the album , `` Shape of You '' and `` Castle on the Hill '' , were released in January 2017 and broke records in a number of countries , including the UK , Australia and Germany , by debuting in the top two positions of the charts . He also became the first artist to have two songs debut in the US top 10 in the same week . Sheeran appeared on Debrett 's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK .