Because Rupert Grint is outdated and Emma Stone is taken. 

You've heard about Ginger Jesus and his beautiful "romantic" song about a heroin addict, but do you know what really makes this Brit so beloved?

1. He's a one-man band that performs flawlessly live. Thanks to the magic of a loop-pedal and the talent that an individual must possess to effectively utilize one, he's going on an earth-shattering tour all by his lonesome. Because he literally DOES NOT NEED A BAND. 

The first time I actually saw him perform live outside of the BBMA's or Grammy's I started screaming "IT HURTS, IT HURTS" to my friend Ashley while cutting off her blood circulation because I thought I was having a heart attack from hearing his voice. Yes, there is  video evidence.

2. 

He reaaaally doesn't care what other people think. And not in a hipster or emo yeaaahhhh buddy i lyke d0nt even caree!!! way but a genuine "I do what makes me happy, not what makes record labels happy" kind of way. This is true for both his music and his image. Clearly. 

3. 

Lets be real, I don't think he's all that physically attractive. What makes him attractive as a whole is how little he cares about that + his incredible voice + down to earth-ness. Though I would be 100% okay with him taking his shirt off. 

4. 

Personally I don't find his music videos to be all that great, but you feel the need to watch them anyway JUST TO GET A SNEAK PEEK OF HIS RED HEAD. Most notable is the only music video of his that I've ever really liked - probably because Taylor swept in with her knowledge of such things - for "Everything Has Changed," in which he plays a tatted dad holding his mini-me. May or may not be swooning. And Ed, if you ever read this, I'm not being a music-video hater. I'm probably just too sober, or un-artistic, or something, to understand  what the hell is even going on.

5. 
He wears glasses. This could be a pretty stupid reason to love him. I can't bring myself to care.     

6.  

He loves animals (so what if he primarily likes cats and I'm completely allergic? It's not like i'll ever make him choose......) 

7. He firmly believes in being respectful to fans, as he discussed further in his documentary misleadingly titled Nine Days and Nights of Ed Sheeran. Because there was technically only one night of Ed Sheeran that was just repeated for nine days and nights. But whatever.

 

Basically, he thinks even if he is having a terrible day, a fan went out of his or her way to see him, so they deserve to see him at his best. #BLESSTHISPHILOSOPHY  

8. I am not an O.G. fan but his music is so freakin' wonderful that I actually feel guilty about it. I'm usually not into bandwagon-shaming because it doesn't matter how long you've followed or adored an artist - as long as everyone is enjoying his or her music at some point, who cares? Not me. Unless it's Ed and I feel bad for having missed out on some serious brain massages and shutting down my poor friend Shruthi who went to his concert waaaaaay before any of us even knew he existed.  

(This is Shruthi being an O.G. fan and therefore forever holding the title of #trufan) 

So here's the story: I  hated Ed when he first came galloping into the U.S. music scene with his British accent (already done by 1D sorry) and melancholy tunez (boring.) When I attended the Billboard Music Awards last year, he told me he liked my dress and I didn't even say thank-you because he was so awkward and I WAS TOO COOL FOR HIM.  

Then, one fateful night of this wonderful year that is 2014 - which should be known as "The Awakening" from now on - I was casually laying face down on the floor probably experiencing some quarter-life crisis when Mr. Sheeran's Lord of the Rings song   "I See Fire" came up on Pandora. I didn't like LOTR, I didn't like Ed Sheeran, I DIDN'T EVEN LIKE PANDORA.  

But I cried. And converted to Sheerioism. Right at that moment. #Iconic  

9. His covers are so good that he actually manages to outdo the original artists.  

No Diggity, Hit Me Baby, Husband - he nails every single one.  

10. He once wrote a  beautiful and somber ballad dedicated to an unborn baby, including lyrics that he'd probably sing to his actual real life baby.   

"You may be left with my hair, but you'll have your mothers eyes" 

Do I listen to him sing this particular lyric when I'm driving alone in the car and pretend he's talking about our child, even though a tanner-skinned kid with red hair is questionable? Of course not, that'd be completely weird.  

(Yes.) 

(Also, the fact that he's able to write songs about topics outside of love is admirable in itself. "Small Bump" is supposedly about a miscarriage, and the classic "A-Team" really is about a drug addict.)  

11. He can write some seriously sexy lyrics without sounding like a total skeeze.

Essentially, 

If you think this is the end, you're sorely mistaken. Expect more reasons you should love Ed Sheeran coming up right after I listen to "X" 854395739 more times (or comment your own reasons below!) 

*For those of you who still aren't convinced, take a listen! I've created an  Ed Sheeran 101 Spotify Playlist with all my faves. Check it out, or keep one of his full concerts playing in the background this weekend. You won't regret it.