Ed Sheeran Breaks Huge Record As Most Played Artist

Ed Sheeran has established himself as one of the most popular musicians in the modern era thanks to massive hits such as Shape Of You, Thinking Out Loud and more. The music sensation has amassed millions of fans across the globe. Recently, Ed broke a major record, after his track Bad Habits became an instant hit.

The track catapulted Ed to become the most played artist, as well as most played record. Daily Mail reported, this makes the singer, 31, the first person to claim both accolades in two separate years. He previously made the achievement in 2017, which saw the release of his hit single Shape of You and popular album Divide.

The only other artist to have topped both charts in the same year is Adele, with Rolling In The Deep being the most played single and her album 21 making her the top played artist of 2011. The Thinking Out Loud singer has taken the crown for the most played artist for the past five years, with the only exception being Dua Lipa in 2020 with her album Future Nostalgia. 

The annual charts are compiled by music licensing company Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) from music usage and airplay data from radio stations and TV channels as well as public performances. Following Ed, was Tom Grennan, 27,  who claimed the second and third most played tracks of 2021 with By Your Side with Calvin Harris and Little Bit Of Love respectively.

Last month Sheeran released a new “tour edition” of his latest album ‘=’, which includes two brand new tracks. The album sees the addition of nine tracks in total for this expanded version of Sheeran’s 2021 record. Two tracks – ‘I Will Remember You’ and ‘Welcome To The World’ – are totally new. Stay tuned to Thirsty for more updates.

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