Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran returned to Dublin last night for an intimate performance, honoring the journey that has led 14 of his songs to be streamed over a billion times on Spotify.
The Yorkshire-born music star, who has a large Irish family including his Belfast-born father and grandmother, who hailed from Gorey, surprised 1,700 of his biggest fans at the Industries Hall at the RDS for a secret gig on Monday evening.
The 34-year-old artist, who made headlines with his performance at a Wexford pub during the Fleadh Cheoil in August, often reminisces about his teenage busking experiences in Dublin and Galway, crediting the cities with helping launch his career.
Sheeran explained to the audience that he chose Ireland as the location because it "is the best city in the world to play shows in."
As one of the most-streamed artists globally, with over 92 million monthly listeners, Sheeran said it was important to mark the milestone event in Dublin, explaining: "I want to see my family and connect with Ireland again… it's been a while. It's such a lovely venue, such a wonderful atmosphere."
The chart-topper treated fans to a set of his most biggest tracks, including Shape of You, Perfect, Shivers, Bad Habits, A Team and Castle on the Hill, all of which have surpassed one billion streams.
Alongside his newer hits Azizam and Sapphire, Sheeran belted out Irish-inspired hits Galway Girl and Nancy Mulligan.
Spotify's Billions Club celebrates artists at the pinnacle of global streaming success.
Sheeran is set to take to Dublin's 3Arena in December as part of his European arena tour and will play the venue on 9 December.
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