Hit me with your best shot

Excerpt from Billboard: The Sheeran Effect: Observing The Beginnings of Ed Sheeran’s Influence on Pop «So how far will Sheeran’s reach extend within, and change, the genre? It’s hard to say since it’s just beginning, but we can certainly look to the influence of another guitar virtuoso with a knack for crafting melodic tunes for clues. Following the teenybopper explosion at the beginning of the 2000’s, John Mayer’s 2001 debut Room For Squares was heralded as a refreshingly guitar-based pop effort for all ages. Mayer collected the younger fans who had outgrown their boy band phases, and spent the next decade producing hits, touring arenas and, in hindsight, bringing every guitar bro out of the woodwork for their 15 minutes. Would Jack Johnson, Gavin DeGraw or Jason Mraz broken through to Top 40 without Mayer leading the way? Would Howie Day’s “Collide,” James Blunt’s “Beautiful” or (gulp) Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” been nearly as ubiquitous without “No Such Thing” coming before them? Mayer’s success allowed these artists and songs to shine on a grand stage — at least until high-BPM pop returned at the turn of the decade. Earlier this month, Sheeran and Mayer shared the stage at the Grammy Awards, with the elder guitarist supporting the young star on “Thinking Out Loud” alongside Herbie Hancock and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson. Sheeran shares the appreciation of musical legends that made Mayer endearing and older listeners accepting. His albums are critically acclaimed, his singles are commercially successful and now he’s starting to sway the musical direction of hopeful male pop artists. The best thing he can do at this point? Avoid doing an interview with Playboy.»