A Sheerio's dream come true

So last March 12, 2015, I saw Ed Sheeran. I saw how his messy ginger hair crown his head. I saw him strum his guitars so passionately. I saw him perform on stage and sing from his core. And by the end of the night, I concluded that I just had the best two hours of my life.

How I came to know the ginger

So like any other Sheerio, I also have my own story about how I came to know Ed. It all started summer of 2012 when the first season of The Voice UK aired. The series caught my attention since two of my favorite British musicians, The Script lead vocalist Danny and the amazing Jessie J, were then serving as coaches in the show. That was it: the prime reason I watched the show was because of these two British music icons. There was no Ed in the picture yet. And as the show progressed, a contestant named Bill Downs became my bet to win the competition. Through YouTube, I watched his covers of various songs until I stumbled across his cover of a song called “U.N.I.” There and then, I fell in love with the song. I still had no idea then who the singer of the song was. After which, I immediately tried to search for that mysterious singer of “U.N.I.” And in today’s internet-fueled world, it didn't take me long to find him. My first encounter with Ed.

How I learned to love his music

When asked why I love Ed Sheeran so much, my instant response would be: “It’s because of his songs. Each is a story of their own. And for some unexplainable reason, I feel like they’re written for me.” 

From May 2012, I started following his career and how his music gradually engulfed the world. I remember tweeting endlessly about him and his music to the point where my classmates would nickname me as ‘Ed.’ I remember scouring every mall in Cagayan de Oro City for Ed’s “+” album, all to no avail. I remember spending my study-out sessions in different coffee shops in CDO while listening to his album over and over again. I remember celebrating Ed’s 23^rd birthday with my friend Benamor at Cham’s. I remember challenging my friend Kathleen Rae for a rap duel of “U.N.I.” I remember requesting my friend Jireh to do a cover of an Ed Sheeran song. I remember boasting Ed Sheeran to my friend Tisay. I remember entering Cogon’s National Book Store and hearing Lego House being played inside. I remember sleeping almost 3am in the morning from merely watching random videos of Ed Sheeran in YouTube.

How I made my way to MOA Arena

It was during our board exam review days when I learned that Ed would be visiting the Philippines on 2015 to hold a concert for his Multiply album tour. When it was announced that the selling date of the concert tickets would be on October 9, 2014, I became worried since I knew then that it fall within the second week our CPA Board Exam. But the Sheerio inside of me was in ablaze 

So last March 12, 2015, I saw Ed Sheeran. I saw how his messy ginger hair crown his head. I saw him strum his guitars so passionately. I saw him perform on stage and sing from his core. And by the end of the night, I concluded that I just had the best two hours of my life.

-tbc