Ed Sheeran’s No.6 collaborations album

Ed Sheeran’s no.6 Collaborations

By Toby Chan and Jonathan Ng Illustrations by Brooke Ye and Natalie So Layout by Jocelyn Cheng

As the album title suggests, Ed Sheeran has sure assembled the arsenal of artists for his plans of a superstar featuring album. A world renowned virtuoso of songwriting, Sheeren had frst established his reputation and fan-base in mainstream pop culture in 2011 when his debut album “+” (read as plus) topped the charts, and went on to be nominated for a Grammy in 2013. Perhaps the quintessential pop star of the era, Sheeran has garnered the most followers out of any artist on spotify. Following his success with his album “Plus”, a polished, aspirational and vibrant “Divide” took 2017 by storm. Needless to say, Sheeran has chosen “creative” approaches with his records and releases. And now, his latest creation comes with a legendary and unprecedented list of name-cramming; everybody from the dexterous tough-talking maestros like Eminem, to the new and soulful faces like Yebba. While this audacious name-dropping album is an experimental gamble, Sheeran has capitalized on his support, proving to be a versatile pop star, like a fsh in water, fuent in the genres of R&B, hip hop and dancehall. The skillful marriage of such genres is paralleled only by the complexity in his new narrative, emphasizing the struggle of fame and stardom, and his newfound fulfllment in his marriage to his wife, Cherry.

In the album, Sheeran focuses majorly on displaying cultural interaction and diversity, as can be seen through the different racial backgrounds of the collaborating artists in his song releases.

This is frst demonstrated through Sheeran’s second track South of the Border, a savvy crossover into latin-pop territory. The track features Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello, as well as Cardi B, an American rapper with Dominican roots. Due to the high status and strong personalities of all three fgures in the track, Sheeran is forced to share the spotlight with his two wingwomen, limiting each artist to just one verse, before combining for the chorus, where Camila and Ed sing and Cardi B ad-libs. One highlight of the track can be heard when Sheeran throws in a bit of Spanish during the pre-chorus, mentioning the phrase “te amo mami” twice, which translates to “I love you, mama”. While this is evidence that he is testing new horizons, he is simultaneously lost in the foreign nature of his LatinPop fantasy, singing about “Caramel thighs” and “curly hair”, deviating heavily from his British roots and his standard style of lyric composition. Therefore, perhaps his most promising collaboration has been soured by his disingenuous approach, through talking excessively about hispanic culture instead of focusing on the beauty within this intersection of cultures. Ultimately, there is a shallowness to “South of the Border”, as the message doesn’t seem to go deeper than taking a vacation, and Sheeran’s love for hispanic music.

Nothing on You is another song which highlights the crossing of cultures Sheeran’s album. The track features Argentine rapper/singer Paulo Londra, and native British rapper Dave. The track is structured so that each artist has a verse to themselves, balancing the artists’ respective languages of English and Spanish throughout the track. While the track itself is not the most outstanding of the album (its lyrics also not the most appropriate for younger listeners), it is nice to see Sheeran tap into the culture of Latin-pop once again, allowing his music to appeal to the larger hispanic audience. Additionally, the collaboration on this track demonstrates Sheeran’s generosity: by collaborating with these young artists (both Londra and Dave are 21), it offers them a platform to grow their reputation and recognition in the music industry.

A signifcant difference in this album is the huge range of genres and styles that Sheeran crosses over and experiments with through collaborating with other artists.

Not known for excessive indulgence in a luxurious and frivolous characteristic ‘Hollywood life’, Sheeran dedicates a substantial amount of lyrics to explain his distance from the parties and ‘wild-life’ in Beautiful People. A R&B styled hard 校話 期刊 21 103

drum beat coupled with panned out repetitive vocals in “we are, we are, we are” delivers a powerful hook to start this soulful ballad. After this, both Sheeran and Khalid share exchanging verses to explain their awkwardness in an uncomfortable setting, from “Lamborghinis and rented hummers” to “Champagne and rolled up notes” contrasting glamour to dark pleasures. The focused R&B is also a parallel to his personality. While everyone is vapid and superfuous, Sheeran tends to be lively and minimalistic, staying comfortable in his own territory. This lifestyle contrastingly parallels to his lyrics and the sudden shift in tone is Sheeran’s way of distinguishing himself, as “that’s not who we are” shows that he lives a simplistic down-to-earth’ lifestyle.

It is clear by now that all this travelling has made Sheeran a little homesick; oscillating between the antipodes of chronic party rockers and hispanic culture must be taxing. No better place to relocate than one’s home, as Sheeran and Stormzy take it back to the old school roots and streets of London as they get their “grime on”. One of No.6 Collaboration Album’s most prominent features is the incorporation of Hip Hop styles into his music. While his experience in grime is limited, Sheeran tries to combine those elements smoothly into his music. He adopts their language (“Big Michael”), he puts on their tough talk (“back in bits with my guy”), he even compromises and relates to their extravagances (“I rock a 5970 on daily”) to show he is not lacklustre in any way. Aside from this, the song has simply jeopardized its authenticity by losing depth. The lyrics are implistic and awkward at times, a far cry from the eloquence and aspirational tone that he usually delivers. Yet at the same time, one could ask whether there is a need to overcomplicate. Not every song in his collection has to be romanticized to have inherent beauty. Sheeran may need to exert this playful and nonchalant side to truly experiment with the boundaries of his style.

Sheeran’s No.6 Collaborations is all about experimenting different genres, therefore Hip Hop should no doubtedly feature in this album. Antisocial is the track which sees Sheeran completely isolated from his comfort zone, and thrown into the realm of hip hop. The track also features infuential American rapper/singer Travis Scott. While both artists have reached the peak of the music careers, the shared feeling of insecurity and anxiety over trusting the media, as well as their loved ones, inspires the two to come together for this record. Scott, due to Sheeran’s unfamiliarity with the genre, dominates most of the track’s production and arrangement, while Sheeran appears briefy for his verse and the chorus. This is evident from the beginning, as Scott begins the piece with abstract sounds and elements in the background, surrounding a voice which states “This is about to happen”. The repeated tune of the song is then fully unleashed, containing a futelike melody line, a heavy drum beat (containing a snare, kick and hi-hats), and bass notes. Scott also colors the song with his signature ad-libs (such as “Yea!” and “It’s lit!”), causing it to sound more like his own. While this is a very promising attempt at hip-hop by Sheeran, Sheeran seems to be overshadowed by Scott for most of the track, relying on his expertise to carry him to the end. Otherwise, the song itself is very hyped up and makes a very good track that fulflls a purpose of giving the listener energy and motivation.

Although it is clear that Sheeran wants the hip hop impression to be strong and perennial, the album’s most evocative and picturesque moments manifests when he is the most distant from the genre. There is a brief sliver of reminiscence, when we are reminded about chord strings and acoustic fings on Best Part of Me as Sheeran revisits his folk singer-songwriter fundamentals, impacting listeners’ core emotions of innocence and nostalgia. It is comforting to see Sheeran salvaging the doctrines of his earlier self, one who would pour out his own soul into the big dipper, and fll the empty pot with a beautiful deluge of emotion. Immediately, we see that this is the type of collaboration where Sheeran can project his strengths, as his voice is coherent and steady, harmlessly firting with Yebba’s southern charm, strengthening a secular and melodic backbone to the ballad. At the same time, the distaff side has also unlocked the keys to portray something harmonic, omitting the ambitious yearnings of a super team-up for just an instant, and allowing us to enjoy the peace and tranquility.

Despite getting married recently, Way To Break My Heart sees Sheeran write a song revolving around the theme of heartbreak, as well as tap into the realms of electronic music. The theme however, is fairly unusual, given the fact that he is married. Sheeran pairs up with popular American DJ and producer

Skrillex for this track. This can be considered a perfect match, as Skrillex also attempts to discover a laid back sound which deviates from his usual clamorous dubstep. The track begins with a soft, 4 note electric guitar riff, which is looped throughout the entire song, setting a melancholic mood for the listener. An echoing effect is then applied on Sheeran’s vocals, creating a hollow atmosphere to augment the sense of heartbreak and sadness. While the track already contrasts Skrillex’s typical music approach, he manages to keep an aspect of his style in the composition. This is frst noticeable in the percussion, as Skrillex sticks to his typical drum kit that packages a bass note with each beat of the drum. This enables the drums to serve a rhythmic bass while, at the same time, keep the tempo of the song fowing. Furthermore, Skrillex manipulates Sheeran’s vocals (once again) to sing notes on the “A major” scale, to serve as the melody of the chorus. While the song may seem a bit choppy during its transitions, Sheeran has managed to nail the electronic genre with the help of Skrillex, conveying a very strong message for anyone who is feeling the reminiscence that Sheeran illustrates in the song.

If Ed Sheeran is renowned as the biggest pop star since Michael Jackson, it is surprising to see that until now, Rock & Roll is uncharted and untouched territory. On BLOW, Sheeran seems to be most compromising, by morphing his sound to coalesce with the stylings of his collaborators, especially Chris Stapleton. Similar to Antisocial, Sheeran has taken a backseat to formulating the song, keeping his lines limited to establish a more concise delivery about wild dames and ardent babes. Surely, Ed Sheeran is no Ozzy Osbourne or Mick Jagger when he climaxes about “You make me wanna make a baby, baby”, but his 3 octave vocal range is no pushover. Furthermore, no pop rock crossover would be complete without Bruno Mars and his all around unrivalled virtuosity as an entertainer. Although a guitar screeching metal rock track with loud chaotic beats is surely no humble approach to end this album, we knew from the beginning that Sheeran was planning to release an album of a great level of diversity, championing artists like no other has before.

It seems No.6 collaborations is an intriguing album. It is an eclectic mixture of songs, some that will be forgotten in the wayward hinterlands of mediocrity, and some that will become defning staples of this decade’s pop music. Some would say it is less of an album, but more of a vibrant compilation of the individual talents of different music stars. While the project was a sophomoric attempt to establish range and depth, there is no dispute that Sheeran takes a refreshing approach to pop music creation. Hence, listeners and avid fans should not expect the big rain of emotional torrent like “Plus, Multiply and Divide”, as this project focuses on blending different colors and shades in an unselfconscious manner. It seems Sheeran has truly boasted a little of every artist, showing his well honed, friendly persona. Consequently, it has also resulted in an abyss of substantial and relatable feelings, leaving listeners to hanker for something new to fll the empty emotional void. All in all, to truly grade this project would be to grade its diversity- which can be glimpsed through Sheeran’s musical experimentation.