From crazy cats to puppets, Rupert Grint to ballroom dancing, Ed Sheeran’s music videos have been a huge talking point over the years.
In his earlier music videos, Ed would only make a brief appearance. However over time he has become the main star of his videos, much to the delight of his fans. Whether his videos are poignant or just downright bizarre, they always seem to fit in perfectly with his much-loved music.
To celebrate Ed’s 25th birthday on February 17th, here’s a look back at some of his best music videos.
6. Drunk
‘Drunk’ was the fourth single to be released from Ed Sheeran’s debut album +. Whilst there is a second music video for ‘Drunk’, made up of clips from his UK tour, the official music video stars Nina Nesbitt and a cat who takes Ed out to get drunk to forget about his break-up.
The video starts with Ed opening a can of beer on the couch, before realising that his cat is talking to him. Together they get substantially drunk, go to a pub and bring home lots of women and other cats. Throughout the video, we are shown flashbacks of Nina, who stars as Ed’s ex-girlfriend who broke up with him.
This video is probably one of Ed’s most bizarre yet memorable videos, however, it suits the song down to a tee!
5. Give Me Love
‘Give Me Love’ was the last single to be released from + and the music video for it is undoubtedly one of Ed’s most underrated.
The video stars Isabel Lucas (Home and Away), who appears to have taken her own life. Throughout the video, we are shown flashbacks of her previous life, and after growing wings she becomes “a city dwelling cupid armed with a bow and arrows of love“.
Whilst the video is very dark, we have chosen it as one of Ed’s best as the director, Emil Nava, shows his support of the LGBTQ community. Cupid strikes many people with her arrows, and people of the same and opposite-sex fall in love around her.
Ed only makes a brief appearance in this video, fading into the background whilst drinking a cup of coffee.
4. Photograph
‘Photograph’ was the fifth song to be released from Ed’s second album, X. The video is a montage made up of clips from Ed’s childhood up until the present day where he is performing to a festival crowd. The video is absolutely adorable and it’s clear to see from the clips of Ed playing instruments as a child, that he was destined to be a star.
The footage was sourced by Ed from his father. He intended on using the clips in a documentary but decided that the footage would be great in a music video. From his obsession with Lego, busking, to performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, it’s great to see little bits of Ed’s life played out in the music video.
3. Sing
‘Sing’ was the first single from X and the video stars Ed, Pharrell Williams and the main attraction – a puppet of Ed!
The puppet of Ed goes on a night out and gets drunk and sings karaoke. The puppet also goes to a strip club before picking up Ed and Pharrell from a studio in his truck. Whilst the puppet is the main focus of the video, the real Ed also appears often, playing guitar.
The video was so well received that Ed and Pharrell won the award for Best Male Video at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. ‘Sing’ is a departure from Ed’s sound as it is more upbeat, and the video compliments that. We think the video is really fun and the puppet has captured the essence of Ed really well!
2. Lego House
‘Lego House’ was the third single from +, and the video features Harry Potter star Rupert Grint as ‘Ed’. During the video, we see Rupert writing song lyrics, chilling in the tour bus and eventually going on stage to a cheering crowd. However it is at that point that we realise that Rupert is not playing the part of Ed, but actually an obsessive fan, who is then carted off by security.
We see Rupert’s character talking to a mannequin of Ed, breaking into his tour bus and even chewing on a piece of Ed’s used gum – how gross! We come to understand that Rupert’s character has been stalking Ed for some time but has never met the star. Perhaps the most heart-breaking bit of all is that Rupert’s character actually comes face-to-face with Ed at the end of the film, just as he is being removed from the venue.
1. Thinking Out Loud
‘Thinking Out Loud’ was the third single from X and its video caught most of Ed’s fans by surprise. Ed takes the lead role in this stunning video where he does a ballroom dance with Brittany Cherry, a contestant from So You Think You Can Dance.
Whilst on tour, Ed spent five hours a day for three weeks practicing the routine. Finding it extremely tough at times, Ed told Capital that he nearly scrapped the whole idea. “I don’t need to be in the video. I’m only doing this as a personal thing, like thinking I could dance. And when it started getting really tough, that part of me started kicking in. Like why am I doing this? I should be focusing on the concert I’m playing tonight rather than busting my balls to make sure this video works,’ he recalled.
“And then, I don’t know, I rarely start something that I don’t finish. I find giving up halfway through is one of the worst qualities that you can have, so I just made sure I finished it. And it worked out!” Ed said. The result is absolutely beautiful – the video captures the essence of the romantic song, which has become a popular song choice for first dances at weddings.
As of February 2016, it has over 960 million YouTube views, making it the 22nd most viewed video on the site!
Thank you, Ed Sheeran, for giving us some of the most incredible music videos. Ed is currently having a well-deserved break, but we can’t wait to see what his next music video will bring us!
Happy 25th birthday Ed – we hope you have a wonderful day.
Did we include your favourite Ed Sheeran music video? Let us know your thoughts @CelebMix or leave a comment below.