Ed Sheeran has the Midas touch right now. But surely he couldn’t turn ‘80s heavy metal classics and ropey rap-rock tracks into feathery pop delights?
The task was set to him for a sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where Sheeran sang works from a mock release titled Ed Sheeran Sings Heavy Metal (we hope it’s a mock release), an album billed as a collection of 25 “of the darkest, most skull crushing songs ever written.”
Watch Ed Sheeran’s ‘Good Morning America’ Performances
Sheeran, or rather “pop music’s cherub-faced troubadour” (as Fallon in pseudo-Carl Sagan garb described him), performed Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” and Limp Bizkit’s late ‘90s effort “Break Stuff.”
But wait, there’s more. There’s an Ed Sheeran Sings Hardcore Rap album, which features a version of Ty Dolla $ign’s “Paranoid,” a track Sheeran performed for the viewers back home.
Sheeran, whose X tour is winding its way through north America, doesn’t convert gold. But it all could have turned out a whole lot worse. Check out the clip below.