Ed Sheeran Draws Massive Crowd to NYC Show, Responds Again to Social Media Controversy

Ed Sheeran nearly shut down New York City during his performance at Rockefeller Plaza on Thursday morning.

The 26-year-old pop star put on a mini-concert on the Today show, and according to police who spoke with the NBC morning program, 12,000 fans came out to see him sing, making this one of the largest shows held on the plaza, behind Lady Gaga, who drew a crowd of 20,000 in July 2010. The GRAMMY winner performed a bunch of his hits, including "Shape of You," "Castle on the Hill," "Shape of You," "Supermarket Flowers" and "Galway Girl."

EXCLUSIVE: Ed Sheeran Talks New Inspiration for Divide -- 'All My Other Albums Have Been About Heartbreak'

Speaking of the Mother Monster, Sheeran also sat down with Today show co-anchor Matt Lauer, and further clarified comments made about his social media practices. In an interview with U.K.'s The Sun, Sheeran said he's "come off Twitter completely" after receiving hateful messages from Gaga fans. "One comment ruins your day. But that’s why I’ve come off it," he said. "The head-f**k for me has been trying to work out why people dislike me so much."

Sheeran couldn't believe fans had "made such a big deal out of this" remark, and told Lauer that while he no longer reads negative comments on social media, he still posts on Instagram and Twitter. "I'm just not gonna wake up and read something and be like, 'Oh, well that's rude," he explained. "I don't want to choose to do that anymore."

MORE: Lady Gaga Defends Ed Sheeran After Her Fans Drive Him Off of Twitter -- 'Be Kinder Everybody'

He also elaborated on his remarks to The Sun in an Instagram post on Wednesday. "Loads of Hoo-har about me quitting stuff. I haven't quit anything, I'm just not reading anything, except Harry Potter," he wrote. "Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th."

Sheeran has been known, however, to read the positive comments about his work. In an exclusive interview with ET in March, he revealed that he had been viewing reactions to his album ÷ (Divide). "I spent about six hours last night watching YouTube reaction videos," he shared. "It just makes me smile the whole time."

EXCLUSIVE: Ed Sheeran Opens Up About Girlfriend Cherry Seaborn, Reveals Secret to His Weight Loss

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

Related Gallery

Star Sightings: July 2017