Today, Ed Sheeran is a globally-known English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for creating monster hits such as “The A Team,” “Give Me Love,” and “Lego House” from his 2011 debut platinum album “+”. His music videos of these songs have grossed almost half a billion views.

What people might not know is that Sheeran knows about the Shockers. In 2013, when he came through Wichita with Taylor Swift, he had a conversation with Channel 96.3’s DJ Sassy about WSU’s success in the 2013 NCAA tournament.

 More recently in 2014, Sheeran released his second album, “X”, pronounced “Multiply,” which instantly debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1. Fans will recognize ballads such as “Tenerife Sea,” which was featured in the massively successful movie “The Fault in Our Stars.” From “X”, Sheeran earned a large amount of attention — even some teasing from Ellen DeGeneres about his song ,“Don’t,” which is allegedly about a fling he had with singer Ellie Goulding.

When Sheeran’s album debuted, it stayed at No. 1 until Taylor Swift’s fifth album, “1989” knocked him out of the top spot.

It wasn’t overnight success for Sheeran. In 2008, when he was 16, without a penny to his name, he moved from Framlingham, Suffolk, England to London to pursue a music career.

“Sometimes I would play shows and not know where I was going to sleep that night and ask the audience if I could crash on someone’s couch,” Sheeran said in a 2014 MTV documentary titled “Nine Days and Nights of Sheeran.”

It wasn’t until 2010 that things started to kick-off for Sheeran, who happened to be noticed by Elton John while in London. And when “X” took off in the U.S., that’s when he came to America to live in 2012 with a deal on John’s record label.

John was probably able to pick up on Sheeran’s raw talent because, from the beginning, Sheeran made a pact with himself to stand out.

He purposefully performed shows where he would be the only male singer of the night. When he performs, he performs without a band — but he still sounds like he has a band. He uses a technique called “looping,” where he creates layers upon layers of live sound. Music experts claim the use of the loop machine is difficult and technical because the song can potentially become unrecognizable if Sheeran messes up. Sheeran writes all of his own music and has written music for other talent as well, such as One Direction. His music is raw, emotional and tells unique stories.

Sheeran is incredible to see live. He has a natural, goofy charisma that he shares with the audience. There was such a demand to see him perform that Madison Square Garden offered him three nights headlining there, which sold out in about 15 minutes.

If you haven’t been relaxing to Ed, it’s worth it to start.  Both albums are available on iTunes. His music is also available for streaming on YouTube and Spotify.

You can’t go wrong with Sheeran. I swear.