Ed Sheeran collaborates with basically everyone in No.6 Collaborations Project

Ranking: 5/10

Back in 2011 when British popstar, Ed Sheeran was unknown by majority of the world he released the EP No.5 Collaborations Project. Now, 8 years later, the follow up to that EP has been released and to say that the album is a far cry from its predecessor would be an understatement. With a number of different genres explored, Sheeran shows off his versatility with the help of his A-list friends.

The album boasts 15 tracks and almost reaches a running time of 1 hour. With so many collaborations it is basically guaranteed that the album is going to be filled with many different sounds. Unfortunately not every track and collaboration is a hit. The flow from track to track is messy and it is a struggle to really get into the album in its entirety. Individually, there are songs that shine but at the same time there are definite misses.

There are a few highlights on the album. Songs like South of the Border and Cross Me are catchy fun pop songs that will definitely do well on the radio. Beautiful People is also a great track although the Khalid feature wasn't really necessary as Ed shines more on his own verse. Best Part of Me is a track that sounds more like the Ed everyone knows and loves. A soft love ballad that will have couples crying. It is very similar to that of Hearts Don't Break Around Here from his previous album. YEBBA is a beautiful addition to the song and it is the one point in the album where the collaboration actually works really well. While a very cliche song, it is sure to satisfy Sheeran's fans. Rnb crossover track, I Don't Want Your Money featuring H.E.R is also a really good track.

The album's biggest disappointment, I Don't Care should have been a hit as it features two of pop's biggest male stars however, it falls flat. As Anthony Fantano put it, these two artists voices together is like adding water to more water. Justin Bieber doesn't add anything extra to the song and their voices together sound very similar. The beat is tedious and bland. It is relatively catchy and the average radio listener will probably enjoy it.

Most of the weaker tracks are those that dabble into the more hip hop side of things. Take Me Back to London allowed Ed to pair up with fellow Brit, Stormzy. While the song is catchy enough it feels odd in the placement of the album. Remember the Name sees Ed pairing with two hip hop giants, Eminem and 50 Cent. Unfortunately both these artists have seen better days and both verses feel very tired and maybe even forced. Feels and 1000 nights are filler tracks that could have been excluded. It''s not all bad though, as the song with Travis Scott, Antisocial, is quite a good addition. Travis Scott actually enhances the song and it doesn't feel like the collaboration was an afterthought.

Collaborating with great artists will not automatically make a song great and that is the risk when making an album filled with features. Every artist brings a different dynamic and feel to the album. The result in Ed Sheeran's case is an album that does not flow cohesively from one song to another. There are multiple genres explored and too many average songs. It seems that Sheeran also didn't know when to limit the song to one feature or when to add another artist.

No.6 Collaborations Project will definitely not go down as Ed Sheeran's best work however, it does have a few strong tracks and was a great way for him to experiment with different genres and sounds. It does seem like Ed Sheeran is trying to remain relevant by attempting to make songs with influences from every popular genre of music. Here's hoping that he will find and stick to his own sound for his next project.