Ed Sheeran, pop music’s sweet-voiced crooner, unleashed his inner thrasher on Monday night’s The Tonight Show. In addition to gushing about his night out with music royalty Jay Z and Beyonce, Sheeran took the time to cover some tracks outside of his usual repertoire for host Jimmy Fallon.
“Do you enjoy the morbid and disturbing themes of heavy metal music, but wish that it had a more cheerful, pleasant sound?” asked Fallon, wearing a lengthy wig and turtle neck, in a sketch on the late-night show. “Well, wish no more.”
Sheeran then covered hardcore hits like Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” and Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” with his signature folksy soul sound.
If that’s not hardcore enough for you, Sheeran takes a swing at rap music making Ty Dolla $ign’s hit “Paranoid” sound like a sweet ballad.
Watch the full clip here:
A Photographic History of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift Being BFFs
Ed Sheeran poses with Taylor Swift backstage before his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden Arena on November 1, 2013 in New York City. Anna Webber—Getty ImagesTaylor Swift was joined on stage by Ed Sheeran as she kicked off the European leg of her blockbuster The RED Tour with the first of five sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena, playing to a capacity crowd of more than 15,500 fans, on February 1, 2014 in London, England.Gareth Cattermole—TAS/Getty ImagesTaylor Swift joins Ed Sheeran on stage at his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden Arena on November 1, 2013 in New York City. Anna Webber—Getty ImagesEd Sheeran and Taylor Swift attend the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesTaylor Swift and Ed Sheeran attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted on March 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, Ca.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesTaylor Swift and Ed Sheeran perform onstage at the first of 13 North American stadium dates on The RED Tour at Ford Field in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 48,000 fans on May 4, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan.Christopher Polk—TAS/Getty ImagesSingers Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran perform together at Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden on Friday Dec. 7, 2012 in New York City.Evan Agostini—Invision/APEd Sheeran made a special surprise appearance onstage during the finale of the North American portion of Taylor Swift's RED tour. The show played to a crowd of more than 14,000 fans on the final night of three sold-out hometown shows at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on September 21, 2013. Larry Busacca—TAS/Getty Images
