Mainstream music has stolen Ed Sheeran and doesn’t look like they will be letting him go any time soon. The appeal of money, glitz and fame clearly can draw anyone away from their real beliefs and ‘dumb down’ their work. He now fits a commercialised world full of mainstream radio stations, pop loving teenagers and mums and dads who are brainwashed by the charts! These are the audiences who are helping him gain Brit awards and not his true fans who, let’s be honest, probably wouldn’t give him the time of day anymore.

The 21 year old singer-songwriter had a lot of talent not only in singing – but rapping. His unique quality allowed him to merge different songs together and perform them with his own twist; from what I’ve seen this type of talent is only accepted in the underground world. Ed Sheeran created a song called ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ I listened to this on YouTube and it blew my mind! I started researching more of his songs and grew to love his music, even the short freestyle raps he produced with the likes of Devlin and Example on SBTV. Unfortunately, that song was dramatically edited when it hit the radio stations, ruining the song’s originality and cheapening Ed Sheeran overall.

Playing live and supporting artists like Just Jack he was even more amazing; he could perform concerts with just a loop pedal and a mic mesmerising his audiences, unlike the boring slow songs he is singing on his debut album Lego House.

Music has more depth and meaning in the underground. People perform for the love of sound and capture the audience’s attention through passion and talent. Why do we let the mainstream takeover every time someone really shines?

However, should we really blame Ed for all of this? I don’t feel that it’s all Ed’s choice to change his sound so extravagantly, as much as it is to meet the public’s demand. The soft tone of his voice in his latest song ‘Drunk’ still stands out from many other artists, and songs like this will allow him to live a good lifestyle, but I think that he should at least bring some of his original work into the charts. They may be more of a hit than what decision makers in the music industry think.