This week Disney+ released Ed Sheeran’s four-part documentary, Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All.
The Sum Of It All is the story of music superstar Ed Sheeran through of one of the toughest years in his life.
In ‘Love’, Ed offers up an exclusive look at his teenage years and how his determination to be seen by an industry that ignored him got him in contact with media entrepreneur Jamal Edwards. A big focus is the story of his hit song “Perfect”, written about his old school friend and now wife Cherry.
Part two, ‘Loss’, focuses on Ed’s grief surrounding the death of his friend Jamal and how music became his therapy. Everything culminates in a rousing hometown sing-a-long where Ed sings the iconic “Thinking Out Loud” to shocked locals looking on.
In ‘Focus’, Ed showcases his song writing talents with exclusive archival footage showing the inception of one of his biggest hits “Bad Habits”. And after a turbulent year, Ed is finally able to channel his emotions to pour himself into completing his 5-album masterplan with Subtract, something that has been eluding him for over a decade.
Closing the series out is ‘Balance’, with Ed and Cherry reflecting on how they’ve managed the challenges of balancing family life and work when they are regularly miles apart. And as Subtract nears its release, Ed meets up with friend and fellow British artist Stormzy to share his apprehensions of releasing his most personal thoughts into the world.
For someone who is so notoriously private, Ed shares of lot of himself over the course of the series, even being venerable about grief. And while the documentary covers his music, The Sum Of It All offers a deeper, more emotional look at life, love and loss.
4 Stars
Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All is now streaming on Disney+.
