Entertainment

Ed Sheeran makes Time's 2017 list of 100 Most Influential People

The pop star was listed alongside Kim Jong-un and RuPaul.
The pop star was listed alongside Kim Jong-un and RuPaul. The pop star was listed alongside Kim Jong-un and RuPaul.

Ed Sheeran has made Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list for 2017.

The prestigious round-up of the world’s most powerful names includes categories for artists, pioneers, leaders, titans and icons, putting Shape Of You singer Ed in the company of Pope Francis, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Fellow pop star Taylor Swift wrote Ed’s tribute to explain his cultural significance for the magazine.

Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is in Time’s top 100 (Charles Sykes/AP/PA)

She wrote: “A few years ago, in a rare moment of admitting feeling defeated, Ed said to me, ‘I’m never going to win a Grammy.’ Yes, you are, I said. You’re going to sweep the whole thing one of these years.

“It was a few weeks later when he met me in a dance shoe store in London, where I was picking out rehearsal outfits, and said, ‘You have to hear this.’

“It was a song he’d just finished called Thinking Out Loud, which went on to win Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2016.”

James Corden
James Corden
James Corden also made the list (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

She added: “Congratulations to my friend Ed, for the legacy you’ve already built and the brilliant hook you probably just came up with five minutes ago.”

Actor and TV personality James Corden was another high-profile Brit who made the top 100.

Sir Elton John wrote: “James is one of the most hardworking and talented people you will ever meet.

“His authenticity has allowed him to shape pop culture in an incredible way.”

Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa May is one of the most powerful leaders – but for how long? (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Prime Minister Theresa May was lauded by New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English as one of the most influential world leaders, who threw his support behind her by writing: “She is the right person to guide the democratic will of Britain through the complexity of separating the UK from the European Union.”

Other names featuring on the artists list included actors Emma Stone, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Reynolds whose Deadpool performance was praised by Dame Helen Mirren, and musicians Alicia Keys, John Legend and Demi Lovato.

The icons category included author Margaret Atwood, footballer Neymar whose blurb was by David Beckham, actress Viola Davis with a tribute from Meryl Streep, and actor RuPaul who was written about by his friend Naomi Campbell.

RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul was named in the icons category (Jordan Strauss/AP)

She said of meeting RuPaul in 90s New York: “As soon as I saw him, I wanted to know where he was going, because that was where I wanted to be.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Russian president Vladimir Putin also made the leaders list, while Chance The Rapper, Ivanka Trump and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor were listed as pioneers.

The full list is available at www.time.com/collection/2017-time-100/.