Ed, 24, proved his down-to-earth nature when he put on a special concert for 100 students at the Christchurch-based primary school yesterday.
Singing his hits ‘I See Fire’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’, the flame-haired British artist chatted with the young crowd, answered questions and took photos with each of the kids and the staff, even though it meant his appearance ran over the scheduled time!
The special visit came about through a competition run by More FM, which invited Christchurch schools to show off just how much they loved Ed. As part of their winning entry, Redcliffs School was renamed to ‘Edcliffs School’ and students created their own ‘Edcliffs News’ video. The school also held an official Dress Up Ed Day.
Ed clearly appreciated the effort, as he took to Instagram later to post a selfie with several of the young students.
“Spent the afternoon singing with primary school kids. My face hurts from smiling, so much fun,” he captioned the pic.
The Grammmy-nominated singer is in town to play shows in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch – as well as The X Factor NZ live results show on April 13.
Ed also revealed he has dropped three shirt sizes since switching to a healthier lifestyle, showing off his slimmer physique at recent events.
According to an interview with The Sun, the singer has gone from a large to a small shirt size after including green juices in his diet, although he says he’s still no gym junkie.
“I was never really happy with my image and then I realised it was because I was eating fried food and drinking beer every day,” he confessed.
“You don’t have to kill yourself by getting into shape. Just eat right and don’t drink every day.”
Ed in 2011 (left) and at the MTV EMAs last year (right).
