Grammy-winning British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is no stranger to Malaysia, having performed in Kuala Lumpur multiple times throughout his chart-topping career. Sheeran’s latest show in Kuala Lumpur commenced last Saturday as part of his Mathematics Tour, where he performed to a sold-out crowd at Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Despite having visited our beautiful country multiple times, Sheeran took to Instagram last week to ask for recommendations from Malaysians on what he should do in Kuala Lumpur. Millions of Malaysians were more than happy to provide suggestions, so here’s a full list of Ed Sheeran’s local explorations. Did he try out any of your recommendations?
Ed Sheeran’s Adventures in Malaysia
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1. Batik Painting
The father of two shared a fun Instagram reel of his exploits in Kuala Lumpur ahead of his performance. The reel was captioned with a simple but touching “I ❤️ Malaysia” — and judging by all the positive comments, Malaysia certainly loves him back! Sheeran showed his appreciation for our country by participating in activities from the local culture.
Did you know that the ginger Brit loves to paint in his free time? His first stop was at a traditional batik painting workshop, where he wax painted a colourful butterfly batik design that, according to Sheeran, will grace the walls of his pub back in England. A social artist, Sheeran’s arts and crafts moment was shared with several of his lucky fans. Some of them were Ipswich Town Football Club fans — a passion they shared with the singer. A match made in Kuala Lumpur!
2. Got a Traditional Shave
After he painted batik, the Perfect singer went to get a shave at an Indian barbershop that has been around since 1937. Awww, isn’t it sweet that he wanted to look his best for his fans during his performance later that night? He couldn’t have chosen a better spot to get clean-shaven, as the experienced uncle at the barbershop has worked there since the place first opened. After the shave, the singer was visibly impressed as he studied his reflection, stating that it was the cleanest shave he’s ever had. That’s how we do it in Malaysia, Mr. Thinking Out Loud.
3. Bought Fresh Flowers
One thing we learned from the Instagram reel is that Sheeran is apparently a very spontaneous person. After his shave, he announced that he wanted to stop at a nearby florist, taking his friend aback. After perusing the wares and rejecting some fake blooms, he gifted a bouquet of (real) flowers to his surprised friend, who wondered if Sheeran was “taking the piss”. He wasn’t, it was a gesture of appreciation as the poor man had to “bring [Sheeran] everywhere” — but he could’ve thought of something better to gift, as his buddy hilariously joked.
4. Played Badminton
As mentioned, Ed Sheeran is familiar with Malaysia, so it wasn’t surprising that he knew all about our favourite sport — badminton! Correctly stating that “badminton is huge in Malaysia” while wearing a Malaysian jersey, Sheeran then played the sport with our local content creators Jinny Boy and Joseph Lee. Their opponent? It’s none other than our very own professional badminton player Chan Peng Soon. The trio played against the national athlete in a three versus one game, but even with the upper hand, it appeared that Sheeran (predictably) lost.
Far from being a sore loser, Chan Peng Soon and Sheeran exchanged sports jerseys after the match. The singer was gifted with a black CPS Badminton Academy (founded by Chan Peng Soon in 2019) jersey while Chan Peng Soon received a blue Ipswich Town Football Club jersey with “+–=÷× Tour” printed on the front. Ahem, Mr. Sheeran, we would love one of those too!
5. Tossed Yee Sang
Source: Instagram
Last but not least, the ginger experienced tossing Yee Sang for the first time with Jinny Boy and Joseph Lee, who taught him its significance in Chinese culture. An enthusiastic Sheeran, several of his friends, and the two Malaysians all proceeded to toss the raw fish salad quite vigorously and left a mess behind — captured and shared by Jinny Boy on Instagram with the caption, “The Lou Sang aftermath.” Needless to say, Sheeran and his buddies enjoyed creating “The Lou Sang Chaos” so they mastered the most important part of the prosperity toss — having fun.
We wish them all the happiest of new years and hope that Ed Sheeran will make another visit to Malaysia soon. Maybe next time he could try our local food as well, which is world-famous for a reason.
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