It’s been just three years since UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran broke through into the pop world with his debut¹ single The A Team. But now, he’s already one of the leading figures in the British music industry.

三年前，身为创作型歌手的艾德•希兰携处女单曲The A Team(书名号只能用于中文)空降流行乐坛就大获成功；而如今，他已经成为英国乐坛的领军人物。

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.

年仅23岁的他不仅登上过维秘、X元素以及美国好声音的舞台，还曾为包括闺蜜泰勒•斯威夫特在内的诸多一流歌手登台助阵。他是2014年Spotify在线收听量最大的歌手，是BBC音乐盛典的最佳英国艺人。他的第二张专辑X在6月一经发行就占领英国各大音乐榜单，并获得第57届格莱美年度专辑提名。

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?

可是谁又会相信这个红头发的英国男孩曾在2010年4月买了张机票从英格兰只身来到洛杉矶，只为在一个名为“诗歌之夜”的活动中抱着吉他演奏一场。

Always showing up in baggy² 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 catchy³ tunes⁴ and touching⁵ lyrics⁶ inspired by real life.

“他总是穿着宽松的牛仔裤、T恤和帽衫，没有华丽的舞台表演，而他的音乐才华足以让这个红头发的乖男孩出类拔萃。”《金融时报》如是评价道，“他的歌简单动人，曲调朗朗上口，歌词都是对现实生活的有感而发。”

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.”

还在伦敦时，一次睡在白金汉宫外大街上的经历成为艾德创作Homeless的灵感来源。几周前，他的祖父离世，他于是在Afire Love中写到，“如果你坠落而亡，愿天堂成为你的安息之地”，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.

希兰曾就读于英格兰萨福克郡一所普通的学校。他自幼学习吉他，12岁起就开始了音乐创作。学校的音乐会是他最早的舞台。16岁时，希兰做出了改变一生的决定——辍学前往伦敦追寻自己的音乐事业。为了省钱录专辑，他睡在朋友的沙发上，并在三年间不断地登台演奏。

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 Asylum⁷ Records and his debut album + went quintuple platinum⁸ in the UK.

2011年初，希兰发布了首张个人EP No. 5 Collaborations Project。这首歌令他在iTunes名声大噪，并且引起了（英国摇滚歌星）艾尔顿•约翰的注意。很快他就签约大西洋唱片，而他的首张专辑+在英国销量已经超过500万。

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.”

希兰从未想过成为别人，他一直在做自己——一个看似普通的邻家大男孩。在接受英国《独立报》采访时，希兰曾说自己的人生哲学就是“自私”一些，他说“为什么要纠结于取悦他人？做自己就好，其他的都顺其自然。”