Is Ed Sheeran Underrated?

[ilikemilk]

Ed Sheeran has been dropping hit by hit in the last 10 years whether people like his songs or not. He never gets credit or gets called as one of the best ever. He's had a lot of top 10 hits worldwide. You guys might not like his music because he is pop and he is a white guy and his songs play a lot at malls and fast food places. But give credit where it is due, he is underrated and should get more mentions as one of the best singers and songwriters of the past 10 years.

[Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast]

No

[Glove Slap]

Literally the #1 UK artist of the 2010s.

www.reuters.com/article/music-sheeran-idINKBN1YF0TF

That's not underrated.

[Fire]

How tf is he underrated lmao

[Private Dancer]

.......

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Lol. I like a lot of his music and still: lol

[Groovy]

How is he underrated, he is one of, if not the biggest artist in the world right now who consistently makes hits. Whether people like him or not is up to the listener but there's nothing about him I would consider underrated.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

[M5AGTS]

I think he doesn't get enough recognition as being one of the biggest musical acts of all time. But because he's one of the biggest musical acts of all time, I can't call him underrated.

Also, wtf does Ed being a white man have to do with this?

[Enigma.]

"He never gets credit or gets called as one of the best ever."


Geez, wonder why...

www.thedailybeast.com/ed-sheerans-bizarre-history-of-musical-thievery

[big2000]

UK: 13 #1 hits, 39 top 10 hits
US: 2 #1 hits, 9 top 10 hits

I wouldn’t call that underrated.

And I do question how being white has anything to do with his popularity?…

[M5AGTS]

Sept 20, 2022 16:41:09 GMT -5 big2000 said:

UK: 13 #1 hits, 39 top 10 hits
US: 2 #1 hits, 9 top 10 hits

I wouldn’t call that underrated.

And I do question how being white has anything to do with his popularity?…

Or being a man. Race, gender, sexuality, etc, shouldn't matter. Bringing up those things is very unnecessary.

[Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast]

Sept 20, 2022 16:41:09 GMT -5 big2000 said:

UK: 13 #1 hits, 39 top 10 hits
US: 2 #1 hits, 9 top 10 hits

I wouldn’t call that underrated.

And I do question how being white has anything to do with his popularity?…

it’s more something that often makes him a target or punching bag. White dudes or just plain Ol white people doing ballads often have a lot of success, and yet (in mine and a lot of people’s opinions) a lot of them are overrated and corniest music out there, plus are usually far from some of the best musicians out there.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

He had charm and was somewhat interesting when he first emerged, but now there's nothing distinctive about him as an artist now that he's allowed himself to blend into everything else. He's basically the 2010s-into-2020s solo version of what Maroon 5 became a decade earlier.

[Au$tin]

Bruh why are your takes always so bad?

[Nasarati]

I know this is Pulse, but just because someone has hits doesn't mean we have to recognize them as good or valuable. Ed Sheeran is neither.

You could make the case that he is "important," in the sense that his music has been influential and has been a mainstay of the current cultural landscape for a full decade now. But "good?" No. I will not be giving credence to that idea. He waters down every sound he touches. Like Maroon 5 (and frankly, Justin Bieber), Sheeran's music is successful because it is so bland, so flavorless, and so boringly of-the-moment that nobody objects to it. It is the sound of mass appeal: digestible by everyone, loved by no one.

[degen]

Sept 20, 2022 22:55:49 GMT -5 Nasarati said:

I know this is Pulse, but just because someone has hits doesn't mean we have to recognize them as good or valuable. Ed Sheeran is neither.

You could make the case that he is "important," in the sense that his music has been influential and has been a mainstay of the current cultural landscape for a full decade now. But "good?" No. I will not be giving credence to that idea. He waters down every sound he touches. Like Maroon 5 (and frankly, Justin Bieber), Sheeran's music is successful because it is so bland, so flavorless, and so boringly of-the-moment that nobody objects to it. It is the sound of mass appeal: digestible by everyone, loved by no one.

That’s a very broad thing to say. Loved by no one, yet his singles and albums sold well? That doesn’t make sense. I’d argue this for someone that’s a singles artist and can’t sell albums and tour. His albums sold pretty well (up until recently) and his tours were huge. So he’s obviously loved by a lot of people.

I’m in the team that says he’s not overrated nor underrated? He’s won plenty of accolades, but not to the point where it’s become ridiculous like Beyoncé and Taylor’s accolades. He’s had both critical acclaim and criticism for his pop-fluffy sound. So I’d say he’s neither. Another one of his contemporaries id compare him to is The Weeknd. They fall in neither category of being overrated or underrated.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Sept 21, 2022 0:18:44 GMT -5 degen said:

That’s a very broad thing to say. Loved by no one, yet his singles and albums sold well? That doesn’t make sense. I’d argue this for someone that’s a singles artist and can’t sell albums and tour.

Have you never bought a single (or album) by an artist you liked well enough but not loved?

Anyway, I determined (decided?) at the beginning of this era that Ed Sheeran makes music mainly for non-music fans to enjoy. People who don’t have the time or interest to dive too far into music. They want something quick and easy to like that’s surface level, never gets too deep or detailed, and is super relatable. Nothing wrong with that, and he’s super succeeding at that. But by definition, his music won’t push envelopes, isn’t exploratory, isn’t something to overthink about, and it isn’t made to really be interesting to people who look for something more in the music they listen to than to have their feelings validated by a song that can do just that in the most convenient of ways. Therefore, Ed Sheeran can’t possibly be underrated because he isn’t doing anything to justify being rated at all.

[Ling-Ling]

Based on his massive success in relation to the actual quality of his music, I'd say he's overrated.

[ilikemilk]

Sept 20, 2022 16:41:09 GMT -5 big2000 said:

And I do question how being white has anything to do with his popularity?…

Because people like to make fun of him and hate on him and his songs because of that. 

[Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast]

Sept 21, 2022 11:07:06 GMT -5 ilikemilk said:

Sept 20, 2022 16:41:09 GMT -5 big2000 said:

And I do question how being white has anything to do with his popularity?…

Because people like to make fun of him and hate on him and his songs because of that. 

I mean there’s also the type of music he does that sounds no different than any other white guy doing ballads (Lewis Capaldi, James Blunt etc.) and because of how boringly similar those artists can be, that alone makes them more a target therefore than solely him being white.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

White is also a synonym for bland or basic.

[Au$tin]

I'm still flabbergasted that one of the top selling, streamed, and ticket selling musicians of the last ten years could considered underrated. A few gays on a music forum not liking him or Pitchfork not giving him a great review does not mean he's underrated. I-

[HamedM1 💔]

[Joe1240]

Ed Sheeran is far from underrated but he makes the exact music the GP/Casual Music Listeners like and that is his main target audience at the moment.He hasn't done anything interesting besides the Taylor Swift collaborations in recent years but that doesn't make him underrated at all.Yes he is trend chaser but isn't every musician that wants hits gonna do same as him.

[Enigma.]

I have a friend who is a fan of Ed Sheeran, but when I asked why, she said that he has "a great personality and is so down to earth". I didn't dare to mention his opportunism and huge obsession towards chart success lol

But anyway, it's great that people love music in any form, who am I to judge.

[M5AGTS]

The better word to describe Ed is overhated. He gets way too much hate.

[Normi]

Not somebody calling the most listened to artist on Spotify underrated..

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

underrated? no
overhated? yes

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Oh