IT MAY have been Ed Sheeran’s birthday but it was his fans who got all the presents at his sold-out concert at the National Stadium on Friday (Feb 16) night.

The English singer-songwriter was going to turn 33 only at the stroke of midnight but Sheeran was already in a celebratory mood the moment he hit the stage.

He had every reason to after surviving an especially rocky 2022 where a series of life-changing events inspired Subtract, one of two albums that he released in 2023.

And celebrate he did, wisely leaving most of the depressing stuff from that record (save for Eyes Closed) off the hits-filled 26-song setlist.

After all, this was not only the biggest show Sheeran has ever played in Singapore but the record 60,000-strong crowd also made it the largest on the Asian leg of his current Mathematics tour.

Anyone who has caught Sheeran’s previous four gigs here will remember his concerts used to be no-frills solo affairs where the only piece of equipment accompanying him on stage was a loop station to make it sound like he was playing with a full band.

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That might work in smaller arenas and theatres during the early stages of his career. But now that he is selling out some of the world’s biggest venues on his Mathematics tour, even Sheeran knew his live shows needed an upgrade.

Hence, he has gone the full shebang and there is now a five-piece band to accompany him on the more uptempo songs including the rocking openers, Tides and Blow.

The latter even featured on-stage pyrotechnics, while indoor fireworks were reserved for the Bad Habits finale. 

A 360-degree revolving stage and gigantic guitar-picked video screens also ensured every fan had a great view of Sheeran no matter where they were seated.

However, none of those gimmicks were needed for quieter crowd faves such as The A Team, Thinking Out Loud, and Happier (a special request from a fan and played live for the first time in five years) – which all naturally drew big singalongs as fans also lit the venue up with their phone torchlights without being prompted.

But the biggest surprise of the evening came when Sheeran introduced an unannounced special guest.

Jaws dropped and a roar of approval usually only reserved for the headliner rang across the stadium when homegrown Mando-pop star JJ Lin appeared. It didn’t end there as the pair proceeded to perform a duet of Lin’s 2015 hit, Twilight, with Sheeran singing part of the chorus in Mandarin.

A social media post the day after the concert revealed that Sheeran only learnt his part 10 minutes before showtime.

This birthday boy definitely spoiled us all rotten.