Ed Sheeran Spreads The Love — Cuddles Puppy And Supports Andrea Faustini

Ed Sheeran recently appeared on the popular talent competition The X Factor to perform one of his new songs from his sophomore album X. After Sheeran blew the crowd away with a live rendition of “Thinking Out Loud,” Ed shared his personal choice to win the X Factor competition: Andrea Faustini.

According to The Mirror, Ed Sheeran claims Andrea is definitely his favorite. When the X Factor host asked Ed which contestant had managed to impress him the most so far, Sheeran responded:

“I love Andrea. The pug thing, the singing, I just want to hug him every time I see him.”

Andrea Faustini, a 20-year-old Italian singer, seems to have won the affections of one of the U.K.’s most successful pop singers in the industry. But Faustini has been making a name for himself as well. Ed Sheeran is not the only one impressed by Andrea’s vocal pipes. Earlier this week, all four judges raved about his performance of Beyonce’s hit “Listen” from the movie Dreamgirls.

“Andrea, it looks like Britain has taken our little Italian teddybear to their hearts,” said Simon Cowell. “It was a lot better than last week. It was a fantastic, passionate performance.”

And Andrea isn’t the only one getting love from Ed Sheeran. Entertainment Wise reported on Ed’s appearance on The X Factor as well, but chose to focus on a lighter part of Ed’s visit. Backstage of the show, Ed Sheeran was spotted cuddling with an adorable puppy. Sheeran has openly admitted to being a cat person, having shared many photos of his cat Graham on a special Twitter account, but Ed seemed to enjoy snuggling the fluffy dog just as much.

Ed’s second album, X, has been receiving much critical acclaim — and even managed to top the U.K. charts for awhile. Sheeran was seemingly excited to perform a new song off the album on The X Factor. Fans of Sheeran’s music were shocked to see that Ed brought a bundle of back-up dancers for his performance of “Thinking Out Loud.” Usually, Ed Sheeran appears on stage with little more than an acoustic guitar and his tender voice. Dermot O’Leary pointed out that Ed seemed to be out of his element.

“I know, I’m wearing a suit as well,” Sheeran responded. “I wanted to make it special because it’s the first time I’ve performed this song on UK TV.”

What did you think of Ed Sheeran’s performance?

[Images courtesy of Entertainment Wise]