- 2025-09-18
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MUSIC
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Ed Sheeran Performs at NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran appeared on NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert to perform “Sapphire”, “A Little More”, “Camera”, “Photograph”, and “Azizam”.
This marks the second time Ed Sheeran has performed on Tiny Desk Concert since 2021. But in 2021, his performance was filmed in Jersey due to the COVID-19.
Ed Sheeran said, “I had the honor of doing this, but I did it in Covid, so I filmed it in Jersey, so it’s kinda mad to see the actual desk itself.”
Except for “Photograph”, four songs were taken from his latest album “Play”, which was released on September 12, 2025.
“Photograph” was featured on his sophomore album “x (Multiply)” released in 2014.- This time, Ed Sheeran used a loop pedal during his live performance. The device allows you to record and play music in real time.
He said, “I feel really nervous, I usually don’t get nervous, but this is really fun. I want to say how grateful I am to NPR for letting me use the loop pedal. I can count on one hand the amount of times American media has let me bring this in somewhere. It’s always, ‘Nope, you’re using a band. No, you’re using a band.’ I really appreciate you letting me play live.” -
“Sapphire”
Sapphire was the first song I finished for Play that made me know where the album was heading. It's why I finished the recording process in Goa surrounded by some of the best musicians in India. It was an incredible creative process. I shot the music video with Liam Pethick and Nic Minns across my India tour earlier this year, we wanted to showcase the beauty and breadth of the country and its culture. The final jigsaw piece for me was getting Arijit Singh on the record, but it was a journey to get there and such an amazing day of music and family.”
“A Little More”
“I hadn’t worked with Rupert Grint in 14 years since “Lego house”, so didn’t know if he’d say yes to this idea. But I’m so glad he did. It’s such a fun, bonkers video. Longest video shoot I had ever done at that time, and deffo the most costume changes. Shout out to Emil Nava for always bringing my mad ideas to life. And Nathalie Emmanuel too for being amazing. Rupert, my brother from another mother, thank you for throwing yourself into this, it wouldn’t exist had you said no.”
“Camera”
“My original Camera music video idea was using private home footage of mine and Cherrys key moments of our relationship. But as you guys know, we are an intensely private couple, and some things we wanted to keep just for us. So I recreated a few key moments of our relationship for the music video with the wonderful Phoebe Dynevor. It was so fun shooting this video, almost felt like a holiday for the whole shoot. It was all done on iPhone, and directed by the wonderful Emil Nava. Hope you guys love the song, and the video. Both mean the world to me.”
“Azizam”
“I wrote Azizam after Ilya suggested trying out making music inspired by his Persian heritage and culture. I love learning about music and different cultures the more I travel and connect with people. It was like opening a door to a completely new and exciting world. I loved how a lot of rhythms, scales, melodies and instruments were different but similar to the Irish trad music I had grown up with. It was showing to me music connects us all, and really is a universal language. This whole album is about being playful, explorative, and celebratory. Hope you like it too. And thank you to Ilya for introducing me to such a fantastic world and culture.” - source : NPR
