Ed Sheeran Suffers Major Mic Malfunction During ‘The Voice’ Finale Performance

Ed Sheeran took the stage during The Voice finale to sing his new song “Shivers,” but suffered a major mic malfunction during the live performance. Sheeran went solo for the performance, playing guitar and utilizing a keyboard as well. When he went to start singing, no sound came out. Being the consummate professional that he is, Sheeran — who served as the Mega Mentor on this season of The Voice — moved over to another mic on the stage, and finished the song with no further issues.

During the big live Voice finale, Girl Named Tom — the sibling trio of Caleb, Joshua and Bekah Liechty from Ohio — were crowned the winners of Season 21. For their final performances, Girl Named Tom delivered memorable renditions of “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” by The Foundations and “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. The group was on Coach Kelly Clarkson’s team, marking her fourth team win since she joined The Voice in Season 14. Before the big reveal, Girl Named Tom and Clarkson took the stage together, covering the song “Leave Before You Love Me” by Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers.

This was not Sheeran’s first time performing “Shivers” on live TV, as back in November he sang it on Saturday Night Live. That performance almost didn’t happen, however, as Sheeran had tested positive in the weeks before he was scheduled to appear. There was talk that he could be replaced, and then also rumors that the show could have him perform live virtually from wherever he was quarantining. Thankfully, he was able to make the show after testing negative ahead of the big night.

For fans wanting more Sheeran tunes, the singer recently dropped a holiday track with Elton John. The pair of Brit-crooners debuted their new duet this week, just weeks after Sheeran teased the collaboration during a late-night talk show appearance. While chatting with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon about the new track, Sheeran shared that they almost changed the name of it, but decided not to when they realized how surprisingly unique it was. “

So get this,” he began. “We write it and I title it, ‘Merry Christmas,’ but we’re probably going to need to change that title because there’ll be loads of songs called ‘Merry Christmas’. I went on Spotify, typed in ‘Merry Christmas,’ nothing.” Sheeran then added, “There’s ‘Merry Christmas Everyone,’ there’s ‘Happy Xmas’, there’s ‘Merry Xmas’…there’s not a song called ‘Merry Christmas.’”