Ed Sheeran had a lot to celebrate this weekend between Friday’s release of his – (Subtract) album and a win in his high-profile “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarism trial last week. Sheeran blew off some steam by debuting songs from the new collection during surprise pop-up shows on the streets of New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The street party began in Soho, New York on Friday, when Ed jumped on top of a Volvo to perform half a dozen solo acoustic songs — including “Thinking Out Loud” and his latest single, “Boat” — in the same neighborhood where his limited-time “The Subtract Experience” pop-up shop is located.
In another video, Sheeran manned an ice cream van and handed out some treats to fans in Dallas and performed “Eyes Closed” before kicking off his Mathematics tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night. The weekend also included a pop-up show atop a double-decker tour bus in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The singer wrapped his big weekend by appearing on Sunday night’s American Idol alongside another guest performer/judge, Alanis Morissette, as fill-ins for panelists Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who were busy celebrating King Charles III’s coronation.
Sheeran came out on top last week after the family of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” co-writer, Ed Townsend, lost a $100 million case last week in which they claimed that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had infringed on the copyright of the Gaye hit.
Watch footage of Sheeran’s New York, Dallas and L.A. surprise shows below.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
