Esh Morgan scores with cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’
British singer Ed Sheeran wrote the song The A Team in 2011, a folk ballad about a homeless woman addicted to crack cocaine. It became his debut single and was an immediate hit.
It peaked at #3 in the United Kingdom and made the top 20 in the United States.
Globally, it made the Top Ten in more than 13 countries.
Now 15 years later, reggae singer Esh Morgan, son of Morgan Heritage member Mojo Morgan, has put his own spin on The A-Team.
“I’ve always connected with The A-Team. Ed Sheeran is one of the artists who showed me how powerful a song can be when it’s really just a voice, a guitar and a story. It’s a great song lyrically, and I felt like I could bring my own emotion and interpretation to it without taking away from what made the original special,” Esh Morgan told Observer Online on Friday.
His acoustic performance of The A Team at the recently held Reggae Land concert in the United Kingdom, which was filmed as a music video, has racked up more than one million views since it was uploaded to YouTube less than two weeks ago.
He shared why he decided to perform an acoustic rendition of the song.
“That’s really where I feel most exposed as an artist, in a good way. When it’s just me and the guitar, there’s nowhere for the song or the voice to hide. I wanted people to hear me and connect with the emotion of the song before anything else. It also represents the kind of artist I’m developing into,” said Esh Morgan, who also shared the experience of performing in front of more than an estimated 50,000-strong audience.
“It was crazy! Walking out with just my guitar and seeing that many people in front of me was definitely a moment I’ll never forget. But once I started playing, I just locked into the song. Then hearing the reaction from the crowd at the end was probably the biggest part for me. You never really know how people are going to respond, especially when you’re introducing yourself to an audience that big, so hearing that roar was special.”
Morgan is obviously quite taken aback by the response to the video.
“You always hope people connect with something you put out, but you can’t predict it. Seeing the music video surpass one million views and watching people discover me from different places around the world has been amazing. The coolest part is that a lot of these people are hearing me for the first time, so it feels like the beginning of something,” said the Brooklyn-born singer who resides in Florida.
Morgan has been in music since he was a child.
“I’ve been drawn to music since I was really young. When I was six, while on tour with my dad in Europe, I asked my dad if I could start taking guitar lessons, and I finally got my first lesson when I was eight. After my first two lessons, my dad pointed me toward guitar lessons on YouTube and basically told me to keep learning. From there, I just kept teaching myself, playing and developing. The rest, as they say, is history,” he recalled.
The 24-year-old shared some advice that his father has given him as it relates to being a performer and a recording artiste.
“Probably to find out who I am as an artist and not try to become anybody else. I come from a musical family with a huge legacy, and I’m proud of that, but my journey has to be mine. My dad has always pushed me to work on the craft, understand the business and build something that can last instead of chasing whatever is popular at the moment,” said Morgan.
He shared that he is working on new music with the focus on developing his sound and ensuring that listeners understand who he is as an artiste.
Said Morgan,“I don’t want to rush an EP or album just to have a project out. I want the music to be right and for people to hear the growth from record to record.”