有種才華叫做一路追尋

It’s been just three years since UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran broke through into the pop world with his debut single The A Team. But now, he’s already one of the leading figures in the British music industry.

三年前，身爲創作型歌手的艾德•希蘭攜處女單曲The A Team(書名號只能用於中文)空降流行樂壇就大獲成功；而如今，他已經成爲英國樂壇的領軍人物。

The 23-year-old artist has performed at the Victoria’s Fashion Show, on X Factor and on The Voice’s finale, and toured with top singers including his close friend Taylor Swift. He was named most streamed artist globally on Spotify in 2014 and won Best British Artist at the BBC Music Awards. X, his second studio album, which was released in June, conquered the UK music charts and was nominated for the 57th Grammy Awards’ Album of the Year.

年僅23歲的他不僅登上過維祕、X元素以及美國好聲音的舞臺，還曾爲包括閨蜜泰勒•斯威夫特在內的諸多一流歌手登臺助陣。他是2014年Spotify在線收聽量最大的歌手，是BBC音樂盛典的最佳英國藝人。他的第二張專輯X在6月一經發行就佔領英國各大音樂榜單，並獲得第57屆格萊美年度專輯提名。

Who would believe this was the same red-haired British boy who bought a plane ticket from England to Los Angeles in April 2010, with just one date in his diary – playing guitar at a poetry night?

可是誰又會相信這個紅頭髮的英國男孩曾在2010年4月買了張機票從英格蘭隻身來到洛杉磯，只爲在一個名爲“詩歌之夜”的活動中抱着吉他演奏一場。

Always showing up in baggy jeans, a T-shirt and a hoodie, with no fancy stage gear, what makes this red-haired nice guy stand out is his musicianship, said Financial Times. His songs are simple but emotional, with catchy tunes and touching lyrics inspired by real life.

“他總是穿着寬鬆的牛仔褲、T恤和帽衫，沒有華麗的舞臺表演，而他的音樂才華足以讓這個紅頭髮的乖男孩出類拔萃。”《金融時報》如是評價道，“他的歌簡單動人，曲調朗朗上口，歌詞都是對現實生活的有感而發。”

During his early days in London, at one point, he slept on the streets outside Buckingham Palace, which inspired his song Homeless. Weeks before his grandfather passed away, Ed wrote Afire Love with the heartbreaking words, “And if you fell to your death today, I hope that heaven is your resting place.”

還在倫敦時，一次睡在白金漢宮外大街上的經歷成爲艾德創作Homeless的靈感來源。幾周前，他的祖父離世，他於是在Afire Love中寫到，“如果你墜落而亡，願天堂成爲你的安息之地”，令人心碎。

Sheeran went to an ordinary school in Suffolk, England. He learned to play guitar at a young age and began to write songs at around 12. The boy’s earliest stage was his school’s concerts. At 16, Sheeran made the decision of a lifetime, to drop out of school and move to London to pursue his music career. He slept on friends’ sofas to save money to record his songs and gigged constantly for three years.

希蘭曾就讀於英格蘭薩福克郡一所普通的學校。他自幼學習吉他，12歲起就開始了音樂創作。學校的音樂會是他最早的舞臺。16歲時，希蘭做出了改變一生的決定——輟學前往倫敦追尋自己的音樂事業。爲了省錢錄專輯，他睡在朋友的沙發上，並在三年間不斷地登臺演奏。

In early 2011, the young artist released his first EP No. 5Collaborations Project, which prompted a surge in his popularity on iTunes and brought him the attention of Elton John. Soon he signed to Asylum Records and his debut album + went quintuple platinum in the UK.

2011年初，希蘭發佈了首張個人EP No. 5 Collaborations Project。這首歌令他在iTunes名聲大噪，並且引起了（英國搖滾歌星）艾爾頓•約翰的注意。很快他就簽約大西洋唱片，而他的首張專輯+在英國銷量已經超過500萬。

He doesn’t try to be anything but himself – an average boy next door. Sheeran explains his philosophy to The Independent as “being selfish”. “Why bother to please everyone? Please yourself. The rest will follow.”

希蘭從未想過成爲別人，他一直在做自己——一個看似普通的鄰家大男孩。在接受英國《獨立報》採訪時，希蘭曾說自己的人生哲學就是“自私”一些，他說“爲什麼要糾結於取悅他人？做自己就好，其他的都順其自然。”