Ed Sheeran returns to 'where it all began' in Dublin for secret Spotify show
- - Ed Sheeran returns to 'where it all began' in Dublin for secret Spotify show
Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY November 4, 2025 at 3:45 AM
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DUBLIN – "Ed Sheeran? You mean the pretend Irishman?"
So quipped a cab driver on the way to Sheeran's secret show at the Royal Dublin Society, a thank you of sorts to fans who made him a 14-time member of Spotify's Billions Club.
But while the born and bred Englishman has endured plenty of teasing from Irish cynics, his Emerald Isle bona fides are legit.
At Monday night's gathering of about 2,000 of Sheeran's "top fans" based on Spotify's listening data, Sheeran reminded them of his family tree branches in the country. His father, John, is a native of Belfast, while his mother's family hails from County Wexford.
But more importantly, Ireland is a "special place for me musically. I feel this is where it all began," Sheeran, 34, said from the intimate stage set in front of phone-wielding devotees, many of them sporting forest green baseball caps handed out by Spotify, signifying Sheeran's Billions Club membership.
Ed Sheeran performed a special show for Spotify's Billions Club Nov. 3, 2025, in Dublin.
The streaming service hosted a small group of journalists and influencers from Europe and the U.S. to attend Sheeran's special concert, where he performed just under 90 minutes armed simply with his acoustic guitar, trusty looping pedal and keyboard.
After opening with current single "Sapphire," the ever-casual and genuine Sheeran, clad in a typical uniform of white T-shirt and black pants, rolled through the songs that earned him his Spotify status.
"Shape of You," his first song to hit a billion streams, was followed by "The A Team," his first single in 2010, that Sheeran remarked, "has taken me from pubs to stadiums and been the same song the whole way."
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The rapturous crowd eagerly bounced until the floor rattled during "Castle on the Hill" and "Bad Habits," swooned along with "Perfect" and "Thinking Out Loud," and hushed appropriately during "I See Fire," his 2013 song recorded for the soundtrack of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."
The success of the haunting, steady track – which Sheeran said hit the billion mark in 2024 – surprised Sheeran and "got me thinking about the process of writing again."
Sheeran was alternately thoughtful and cheeky, joking that he wanted to play "Nancy Mulligan" even though it hadn't hit the B-word mark.
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"But it will," he said with a grin as he was joined by Niamh Dunne, the fiddle player who inspired his most overtly Irish-themed hit, "Galway Girl."
Of course, a show in Dublin would be remiss to ignore that sprightly gem, and Sheeran and Dunne galloped through the song as the crowd fervently clapped along.
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The Sheeran Billions Club performance is the third installment of the streamer's live performance showcase following The Weeknd in Los Angeles in December 2024 and Miley Cyrus in Paris in July.
While Sheeran will return to his usual stadium habitat in December for a world tour that arrives in the U.S. in June, the Spotify show offered a rare opportunity for the guy who once busked on Dublin's Grafton Street to recall his musical roots.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ed Sheeran celebrates Billions Club status at secret Dublin show
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
