Ed Sheeran gave his most heartbreaking performance singing “Supermarket Flowers” for his late grandma at the BRITs. Ed stepped out from behind the guitar for this song, focusing on the vocals only, and really wore his heart on his sleeve throughout. Fans were amazed that he made it through the song, and his voice was noticeably hoarse and wavy at a few points, but it just added to the poignancy of the performance.
It’s a song we almost never heard, as Ed initially sang it at his grandma’s funeral and never planned to release it. However, after the funeral, his grandpa told him the world needed to hear it. The Music Man is not surprised he didn’t plan to release it at first, as the song just feels a bit different from his hits, with the lyrics being so intensely personal.
Ed uploaded his BRITs performance of “Supermarket Flowers” to his YouTube channel, where it drew 34.5 million views. Viewers saw that this was a special performance for Ed and added comments such as “Can we please talk about the fact that his guitar let him feel protected and confident and he just came here without one and holding back tears? That is a brave man” and “The ultimate act of respect for an artist is silence. Listen to the crowd. This is a masterclass.”
“Supermarket Flowers” is not a song that Ed plays live often, but each time he does, it’s quite memorable. The English superstar gave another touching rendition of the ballad on the Today Show in a street performance. This song has a different arrangement from the BRITs version, as Ed accompanies himself on acoustic guitar rather than singing over a piano part.
The Music Man readers may recall that Ed issued “Supermarket Flowers” as the final song on his third studio album ÷. He wrote the song after the passing of his maternal grandmother. Speaking to MTV about the song, Ed said that “She was in a hospital near my house where I was making the album” and that he saw her frequently during the recording process. She subsequently passed away while he was working in the studio. Ed told Zane Lowe that after his grandpa heard him play “Supermarket Flowers” at his grandma’s funeral, he told his grandson “you have to put that out, that has to go on the record.” This request changed Ed’s mind about releasing the song, which had started as a simple personal tribute to his grandma.