Ed Sheeran somehow manages to look exactly the same and yet entirely different today as compared to high school, proven in a rare photo from his youth shared on social media yesterday, July 5.
The “Sapphire” singer was marking a momentous occasion in the new post—”the coolest guest act on stage ever”—which involved a brief history lesson for his fans about the band he played in as a kid. The group reunited earlier this year to play at another friend’s wedding, and then stepped foot onstage during one of Sheeran’s stadium shows to perform an old favorite cover from their high school years, Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag.”
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In a throwback photo that briefly flashed across the screen, the Grammy winner-to-be, dressed in a green t-shirt over a black, long-sleeved tee and cropped black pants, stood on one side of the band’s drummer, while the bass player took up the other end.
You’d hardly recognize Sheeran at 12 years old, with a guitar practically as big as he was slung around his shoulder and a mop of shockingly blonde hair removing his most identifiable feature (it’s unclear if it’s just the lighting or if he’d bleached it at the time)—though, upon closer look, his face has hardly changed.
While fans were too hung up on Sheeran’s “epic” guest star for the reunion to say much about the childhood photo, they did agree that it was an undeniably “sweet” memory for all involved.
Related: Ed Sheeran ‘Carried on Like a True Pro’ After ‘Taking a Tumble’ During Recent Concert