Here is Ed Sheeran's very good new single

Isn't it great when pop stars turn around and do something unexpected and brilliant? Case in point: Ed Sheeran, whose Pharrell-produced new single gives us 2014's first proper "wait, what?" moment.

Sing starts off in the hiccupy vein of Justin Timberlake's Like I Love You then, just when you think you know where Ed's heading, he launches into one of his patented not-quite-raps, tips his hat to Rihanna's We Found Love, and knocks out a hook that's hookier than Edward Hookyhands.

It's a hit, and no mistake.

Ed Sheeran - Sing


After the song premiered on Zane Lowe's show tonight, Ed popped up on YouTube answering questions "from the fans" about his new record, x. Here's what we learned.

:: Sing is a "self-explanatory" story of a night out in Vegas, where Ed got chatting to a girl and ended up "ignoring everyone, hoping they would disappear so we could get down." The cad.

:: Pharrell is the "embodiment of soul," apparently. "Making the song he didn't dance once," said Ed, "he just moved his neck slightly."

:: During the recording sessions, guests in the studio included David Blaine (!) and Leonard Nimoy (!!)

:: The single is out now everywhere except the UK, Ireland, Germany and Australia, where you have to have pre-orders because of the way radio playlists work (I think I understood this point even less than Ed, whose grasp was shaky at best).

:: A ginger person in the audience asked: "Ed, how do you feel that the world's entire population of gingers looks to you for inspiration to go outside?" The answer went on for a very long time but, essentially, Ed said: "It feels alright, thanks".

:: Taylor Swift is a regular person, who serves food at her house.

:: He had an analogy about songs coming out of a dirty tap, with "a lot of shit" in the water. The tap eventually runs clean, and that is an Ed Sheeran album.

:: The new album is called x, which means multiply.

:: x will be themed around the colour green, in the same way that + was entirely orange. This is somehow Coldplay's fault.

:: On Ed's last album, "11 out of the 12 songs are the same chord sequence just with the capo on a different fret."

:: Ed pretends not to have tattoos in front of his gran, who thinks he draws them on by hand before every live show.

So there you have it. Ed Sheeran. Nice chap. Great song.

What a nice way to start the week.

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