<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Music video </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> "The A Team" on YouTube </Td> </Tr> <P> "The A Team" is the debut solo single by English singer - songwriter Ed Sheeran . It was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2011, serving as the lead single from his debut album, + (2011). "The A Team" is a folk ballad with lyrics that speak of a prostitute addicted to crack cocaine, a Class A drug . It was written after Sheeran visited a homeless shelter and heard some of the stories of the lives people had been living . Making the song upbeat and using the line "Class A Team" was his way of masking the heavy subject matter . He wrote the song following a last - minute performance at an event for the homeless . The chorus of "The A Team" was also used by Sheeran in the track "Little Lady", which features Mikill Pane. "Little Lady" is available on the EP No. 5 Collaborations Project . </P> <P> It became a top 10 hit in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom . It debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, with sales of 57,607 copies . The song was serviced to US radio formats in late 2012 and became a sleeper hit there, gradually rising up the Billboard Hot 100 to peak at number 16, becoming Sheeran's first single on that chart . On 5 December, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year, Sheeran's first Grammy Award nomination . At the 2012 Brit Awards, it was nominated for Best British Single . </P>

What is the a team ed sheeran about