From the moment he zips into a New York toy store, it’s clear Ed Sheeran is no typical pop star. Start with his appearance: With his hoodie, unsullied sneakers, and perpetually tousled red hair, Sheeran looks less like a teen dream than a dot-com programmer. In search of a gift for a friend, he inquires about Captain America toys, and the salesman, who’s wearing a Pharrell Williams T-shirt, has no idea he’s talking with a British singer-songwriter whose spring hit, “Sing,” was a collaboration with … Pharrell Williams.

But it’s only a matter of time before someone recognizes him: “Are you Ed Sheeran?” asks a teen girl who spots him near the display of One Direction dolls. Stunned, she asks to take a selfie with him, and Sheeran cheerily ­obliges. She’s just one of the devoted fans around the world who made his 2012 single “The A Team”—a wistful ballad inspired, he says, by a homeless ­woman he met while helping out at a shelter—a top 20 hit and bought almost 4 million copies of his first album, + (a.k.a. Plus). Drawn to his tender songwriting and cuddle pup image, Sheeran’s fans (sometimes called Sheerios or Sheeranators) are so besotted they’ve been known to swipe his hoodies, and at his concerts—he’ll be headlining arenas starting in ­August to promote his just-released album x (a.k.a. Multiply)—they sing along with every word and shriek with abandon. “I always feel quite awkward about it,” he says. “I’ve never screamed at anybody in my life. Can you imagine walking into a shop and someone is screaming about a chocolate cake? You’d go, ‘What is that dude doing?’ ”

Ed Sheeran answers fans’ questions in this exclusive video!

Sheeran’s appeal isn’t restricted to adoring females. The 23-year-old’s effortless blend of troubadour pop and hip-hop—the result of influences as disparate as Bob Dylan and Eminem—has already earned him three ­Grammy nominations, a gig on SNL, and multiple Today show appearances (he’ll make his fourth on July 4). The new toast of the music business, he’s one of the few artists who can collaborate with both Williams and Taylor Swift, who tapped Sheeran to join her 2013 tour, boosting his profile with her massive fan base. One minute he’s getting career advice from Elton John and the next he’s working on a new song with Usher, who met Sheeran at a dinner this past spring. “He can create images through words and melodies,” says Usher. “It’s like watching a movie.”

And those are just his music-biz buddies. Visiting Los Angeles more than a year ago, Sheeran was invited to a dinner party that turned out to be at the Malibu home of actress Courteney Cox; he serenaded her guests and crashed in her cabana. Another night, he brought along Swift and members of the band Snow Patrol (one of whom became Cox’s boyfriend). “Ed’s com­fortable in his skin,” says Cox. “That’s why he brings people ­together. You can be 8 or 88, I don’t think it matters.” Sheeran’s Holly­wood pals also include ­Jennifer Aniston, with whom he celebrated Thanksgiving last year. He calls Cox “the sweetest girl” and says that becoming friends with two stars of a show he grew up watching is “surreal.”

Listen to Sheeran’s hit “Sing” and 10 other songs of summer 2014 here.

All rather heady experiences for a kid who, five years ago, was playing open-mic nights and selling his own CDs. “I do pinch myself sometimes,” he says at a café near the toy store, downing both a coffee and an espresso in succession. “I have so many moments like that. I grew up listening to John Mayer and Jason Mraz and the other day, [I got] emails from them. Stuff like that blows my mind.” He sips his coffee and adds with quiet confidence, “Also, there are some artists who are keeping an eye on me. It’s a slight competitive thing, but that’s good since I do it as well.”

As bemused as Sheeran can seem about the opportunities that have come his way, he’s equally intense and driven about his ­career. When he was growing up in the English town of Framlingham, his parents held “millions of jobs,” he says; among them, his father was a curator at a London art galley, and his mother was an art consultant. (These days, she sells jewelry inspired by some of her son’s lyrics and favorite candies, of which he very much approves.) He began playing guitar after seeing Eric Clapton on TV. “I was a misguided teenager,” he says. “I just needed focus, and as soon as I started writing songs and playing shows, that was my focus.” At 16, he announced he was moving to London to pursue his music; his mother was unsure, but his father gave his blessing.

Once there, Sheeran displayed a savvy and determination that served him well. He gigged at small clubs and recorded and pressed up his own CDs, selling enough copies of one of them—2,000—to pay for a plane ticket to L.A. when he was 19. There he performed on Jamie Foxx’s satellite radio channel, the Foxxhole, and wound up crashing at the actor’s house for a few days. Back in London, he eventually landed a record deal with help from manager Stuart Camp, a colleague of Elton John’s. From the start, Camp saw how sensible his client is. “The day he signed his deal, he didn’t go out for a drink,” says Camp. “He said, ‘I’m a professional now. I have to be focused.’ ” It’s telling that the more than 80 tattoos engulfing Sheeran’s arms are largely dedicated to his career: the word “RED” for his tour with Swift; three boxing gloves to signify the number of times he’s headlined Madison Square Garden. (Other tats include a teddy bear and an homage to Matisse, his mother’s favorite artist.)

Hanging with Elton John, who has given him career advice, in February 2013. (Instagram/teddysphotos)

To be sure, Sheeran has had a few rock star cliché moments. He’s admitted to sampling a form of ecstasy while on vacation, passing out drunk at Aniston’s house, and having what he calls “a mini-freak-out” late last year over his career and personal life, which inspired the song “I’m a Mess” on x. When asked about the repeated references to drinking in his songs, he says with a smile, “I’m English—that’s what we do! I don’t have a drinking problem, though.”

Far more revealing of Sheeran’s inherent equilibrium was a “wicked night” after a Grammy Awards party in Los Angeles this year. He and some friends returned to his hotel room and everyone grabbed whatever wasn’t bolted down, piling it into the bathtub. But when Sheeran awoke the next morning and assessed the damage, “I felt so bad and said, ‘Oh, someone’s going to have to clean this up,’ ” he recalls with a sheepish grin. “So I literally de-trashed my room and put it back to normal. If I trash a hotel room, will anyone like me more? You’re not going to have kids going, ‘Oh, that’s really cool and edgy.’ You’re probably going to get a ticked-off maid and that’s about it.” Says Camp, “That sums him up. I didn’t see a bill, so he probably put it back even tidier than it was before.” (Fun footnote: In the video for “Sing,” an Ed Sheeran puppet spends a debauched evening and ends up, with the real Ed, in a thoroughly wrecked room.)

Sheeran is all too aware that, if he misbehaves or insults someone, the news could easily make TMZ or Twitter—and result in lost record sales. “It’s the time of being polite,” he says. “Radio stations aren’t going to play you if you show up late. You have to be respectful and do your job. You can guarantee that Taylor will always be professional and polite, and if you want to be as big as her, you have to be just as professional and polite. If you’re not, radio stations will say, ‘Hmmm, he wasn’t very nice to us yesterday, but she was lovely, so we’re going to play her records.’ ”

His friend Taylor Swift (onstage with Sheeran last September) asked him to join her RED tour. (Larry Busacca/TAS/Getty Images)

In some ways, he’s a male version of Swift: young, talented, ambitious, supremely confident, and unafraid to leap across musical genres and write songs inspired by people in his life. The song “Afire Love,” off his new album, is about his grandfather Bill. “I finished writing it on the day of his funeral,” Sheeran says, “and played it for my whole family. Before it went any further, I needed to get the blessing of the people I care about.” And if you’re wondering, “Don’t,” a bitter song of romantic betrayal, is “about someone who’s well known, but not Taylor,” says Sheeran, who has denied ever dating Swift (rumor has it that fellow Brit pop sensation Ellie Goulding is the song’s subject).

He’s even got a 10-year plan. “I know this isn’t going to last forever. Now is the time when I’m making my musical statements and being cool and going to parties. But I don’t think I’ll be living this life in 10 years’ time. If I am, please slap me.” Where will he be instead? “Back home, bunch of kids,” he says without hesitation. “At 33, I should be starting to settle down.” He won’t name his current girlfriend, though he says she’s a chef.

That Sheeran is already thinking about family doesn’t surprise Cox. “He’s extremely family-oriented,” she says. “I’ve met his dad, mom, and brother, and their love for each other is so sweet.”

Back at the toy store, Sheeran’s quest to find Captain America flatlines, but then he unearths something more rare: a Ronald McDonald figurine. On his way out of the shop, he spots an Elmo doll and gently tickles its belly. Always happy to make a new fan.



David Browne is the author of the just-published The Spirit of ’76, about the American renewal in the Bicentennial year (Amazon Kindle Singles).