review

Ed Sheeran review: Global star makes surprise entrance to 55,000 strong crowd of adoring Perth fans

The global star had the entire stadium in the palm of his hand as he belted out a wide range of his discography.

Kellie Balaam
PerthNow
Ed Sheeran performing in front of more than 55,000 fans at Optus Stadium.
Ed Sheeran performing in front of more than 55,000 fans at Optus Stadium. Credit: Gary Ramage

Music superstar Ed Sheeran rocked out to tens of thousands of adoring Perth fans at Optus Stadium on Saturday night to launch the start of the Aussie leg of his Loop Tour.

The famous red-head tricked his fans eagerly anticipating his arrival by appearing on a second stage hidden among the crowd about 8pm — a moving bridge emerged to get him back to an epic stage.

Sheeran launched his set by bursting into his hit 2011 song You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.

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Sheeran kept singing as he crossed the bridge to a stage that featured a huge LED screen displaying incredible graphics matching the topics of his songs.

“Perth, how you feeling tonight,” he greeted his screaming audience.

Ed Sheeran on the LED screen.
Ed Sheeran on the LED screen. Credit: Gary Ramage/The West Australian

“It’s so good to be back in Australia, thanks so much for coming down.”

He added how much he missed Perth and picked our city as the first stop Down Under because of how “nuts” his fans react and how they turn out “en masse”.

The LED screen was a major feature at the gig.
The LED screen was a major feature at the gig. Credit: Gary Ramage/The West Australian

Sheeran then launched into one of his newer tracks, Sapphire, which had the crowd yelling out the chorus with colourful pyrotechnics shooting into the sky.

Having a loose pedal on his live loop machine didn’t stop the star and while it was fixed he told the story of the tune that kicked off his career at the age of 18, love song A Team.

Global superstar Ed Sheeran on stage.
Global superstar Ed Sheeran on stage. Credit: Gary Ramage/The West Australian

Other hits to feature in his first act included Castle on a Hill, Shivers and Don’t.

Sheeran then took the crowd an emotional rollercoaster, playing some of his most vulnerable songs about love, heartbreak and loss.

He had the entire stadium in the palm of his hand as he belted out a range of his discography from the early 2000s to his eighth album Play released last year.

The UK superstar professed his love for performing in Australia, and Perth gave all the love back dancing and singing to some of his iconic love songs like Thinking Out Loud and Perfect.

Sheeran proved why he is one of the most talented and authentic live acts out there with his loop machine ensuring no show is a copy and paste.

He took his fans on a not just a musical journey but filled his set with references to his life trying to make it as a successful musician in London at the age of 17 but getting turned away from every record label.

Instead he began writing songs for other famous artists and to give Perth a taste he played a medley of some of the hits many people might not have known he wrote.

Some of the songs he mashed up included Eastside by Halsey, 2002 by Anne Marie, One Direction’s Little Things and Lover Yourself by Justin Bieber.

The verdict

5 out of 5 stars

Originally published on PerthNow

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