It’s been quite a rollercoaster for Ed Sheeran over the last few days. First, there’s the fact that the UK superstar released his fourth studio album, =, anchored by singles like “Bad Habits” and “Shivers,” just a week ago. But right in the middle of the PR blitz for a massive release like this one in the middle of a pandemic, he happened to catch Covid-19, and necessarily had to put some of his promo cycle on pause. As he was scheduled to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live tonight, rumors began to swirl that the show was looking for a new artist to take his place, but luckily Ed got better and made the slot happened.
He explained in an interview earlier this week that he was never planning to not show up, he also knew the show would go on. And show up is exactly what he did, bringing a pitch-perfect rendition of his slightly-spooky new single “Shivers” to the SNL stage. It was a traditional Sheeran performance — except there was no loop pedal action — with him singing and playing guitar while backed by an immaculate band. Hey, everyone outgrows the loop pedal one day. Check out the performance above. And while we’re here, let’s all be thankful for his speedy recovery.