Ed Sheeran Jumps Atop a Car and Celebrates with Impromptu Street Concert After Copyright Trial Win

Ed Sheeran surprised fans with an impromptu street concert on Friday. The Perfect singer was jubilant over his victory in the copyright trial over Marvin Gaye’s iconic track What’s Going On? Shocked and surprised on-lookers in New York cheered wildly as Sheeran hopped up on the roof of a parked Volvo and started enthralling the audience with an acoustic rendition of his new single Boat, reports People.

The 32-year-old found the perfect spot outside his American Express pop-up in Soho for the impromptu concert. "Can I sing you one song before I go?" Sheeran asked the crowd before rendering his recent single. Sheeran looked relaxed in casual wear: he wore black pants, blue-and-orange Nike shoes and a black jacket over a white t-shirt. The Thinking Out Loud singer strummed on his Subtract-branded guitar as he performed for his several adoring fans who waited outside the pop-up. During the street concert, Sheeran paced back and forth on the roof of the car, and several fans were seen sitting on their balconies, enjoying the track. 

After the New York surprise pop-up street concert, Sheeran enthralled the Dallas audience atop an ice cream truck. In a video posted on Instagram, Sheeran was also seen distributing ice cream to screaming fans on the street, after which he once again mesmerized the crowd with a captivating performance. The Shivers singer was visibly in good spirits following his win in court regarding a possible copyright violation during the creation of Thinking Out Loud.

Sheeran explained that the jury's decision "will help to protect the creative process of songwriters here in the United States and around the world." He said, "[I am not] going to have to retire from my day job after all," after vowing to do so if he were to be found guilty of plagiarizing. "But, at the same time, I am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all," the musician wrote in a statement shared with People. "We have spent the last eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies, and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day, all over the world."

Sheeran thanked the jury, his legal team, and the track's co-writer while encouraging the music community to "come together to bring back common sense."

According to New York Post, Sheeran had taken the stand during the trial and performed acoustic versions of his song for the jury as he made his case that he independently created Thinking Out Loud and has not stolen from Gaye. Sheeran argued that the chord progression in question, 1-3-4-5, is common in pop songs. “When you’re playing a song live and it fits in the same key, most pop songs revolve in the same three or four chords,” Sheeran had testified. "These claims need to be stopped so that the creative process can carry on, and we can all just go back to making music," he concluded. "At the same time, we absolutely need trusted individuals, real experts who help support the process of protecting copyright."

Ed Sheeran is now fresh off the release of his new LP Subtract, an album that includes a sentimental song about his older daughter, Lyra Antarctica, who is two and a half years old.