I was busy writing other posts, doing homework, watching tv, and listening to music (I’m a very talented multitasker) when I decided I wanted to stop and just commend Ed Sheeran for his song “Lego House,” which should have been #PhillipsSongOfTheDay but never has.  So it’s official today: “Lego House” by Ed Sheeran is #PhillipsSongOfTheDay.

I was first introduced to Sheeran’s music when his Grammy nominated song “The A Team” was available on iTunes as the Free Song of the Week, and I was taken with his vocal ability (he really can hit those high notes, I saw him perform live and, man, he got really up there) and the rawness of his music.  I didn’t really become a full fledged fan until I heard “Lego House,” which is just a phenomenal song, and saw him perform live.

The reason “Lego House” has deserved to be #PhillipsSongOfTheDay is because it is a wholesome sounding song.  From the soft guitar melody to Sheeran’s warm vocals, the song is like a tonic on a sad, rainy day.

“I’m out of touch, I’m out of love

I’ll pick you up when you’re getting down

And out of all these things I’ve done

I think I love you better now

I’m out of sight, I’m out of mind

I’ll do it all for you in time

And out of all these things I’ve done

I think I love you better now”

The thing that really makes this such a phenomenal song is the background vocals, which I assume are done by Sheeran.  Hats off to the person(s) who engineered/created the background vocals specifically during the chorus, particularly in the lines “I’ll pick you up when you’re getting down” and “I’ll do it all for you in time.” During these lines, Sheeran’s background vocals harmonize the last word of each line (“down” and “time,” respectively) and holds it out longer than the lead vocal.  I’m not entirely sure how to explain it, but if you listen for it during the chorus, you’ll pick up on it.  But, whoever thought of the idea to have Sheeran hold out those words, kind of like a faint sigh, is just a genius. Pure genius.

Listen for the background vocals here (and, yes, that is the same guy who played Ron in Harry Potter):

Watching Sheeran perform live was a real honor and inspiration because he performed without a band.  It was just him and his guitar.  It wasn’t an acoustic session; Sheeran is his own band.  He uses a foot pedal to record/loop different sounds he makes on the guitar, so he would bang out a beat on his guitar, step on his foot pedal, make another sound on his guitar, step on his foot pedal, and so on.

Sheeran performing during Taylor Swift’s Red Tour

He even tried to get different sections of the audience to perform different harmonies (I believe I turned to my dad, who was with me at the time and said, “God, where’s my sheet music…am I on pitch?”). It was a blast because it was just a guy and his guitar.  #TheMusicainIWantToBe