"The A Team" is a song from the English singer, Ed Sheeran.
The artist was inspired by an experience at a homeless shelter, where he met various people who told him their stories. In the same night, he went home and wrote the lyrics for the song.
When asked about the title's significance, he explained that it comes from a drug which is in the same category as heroin, both of them being "A Class Drugs". As he said, he tried to make the person's addiction more subtle and create a song with a covered up message, as it was very dark.
The song belongs both to the soul and indie folk genres and it was recorded in 2010 as part of the "Lava" and "Atlantic" labels.
While produced by Jake Gosling, the track has a tempo of 170 beats per minute and and it was written in A Major.
The song features piano, guitar and vocals. It has often been compared to "Luka", a song about child abuse from Suzanne Vega, "Fast Cars", which is about alcoholism, from Tracy Chapman and with "Like The Weather", from "10 000 Maniacs", a track about depression.
"The A Team" was released on June 12th, 2011, as digital download. The single received much acclaim from the music critics. It was rated seven stars out of ten and received praise on the instrumental features and also on Ed Sheeran's vocal performance.
The single reached the charts worldwide: Italy, Austria, Canada, France, Australia, Israel, Japan, Germany, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden and dozen others. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, number six on Billboard's "US Adult Top 40", number three on "US Adult Alternative Song", number four on the "US Hot Rock Songs", and also number 16 on Billboard Hot 100.
The single sold more than two million copies in the United States and it was certified double platinum by the RIAA. It also sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom, it was certified five times platinum in Australia and double platinum in Norway and Canada.
The music video for "The A Team", released on April 22nd, 2010 featured the story of a girl who was fighting drug addiction and lived in London.
Sheeran performed it live at the Diamond Jubilee Concert, for Queen Elisabeth II. He also sang it at the shows "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon", "Conan", "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and also at the Grammy Awards ceremony, in 2013.
Enjoy the free piano sheet for The A Team by Ed Sheeran that you can find if you scroll below!
