x is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 20 June 2014 in Australia and New Zealand, and worldwide on 23 June through Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. The album received positive reviews from music critics. It has become an international success, peaking at number one in fifteen countries, whilst topping both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. x also reached the top 5 in seven other countries and was the best selling album of 2014 in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Five singles were released from the album, "Sing", "Don't", "Thinking Out Loud", "Bloodstream" and "Photograph".

The lead single "Sing" was a major international success and became Sheeran's first UK number-one single and his second US Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit (reaching number 13). The second single "Don't" was also a worldwide success, peaking at number 8 in the UK, and being Sheeran's first ever Hot 100 top 10, peaking at number 9. "Thinking Out Loud" was a sleeper hit in the UK, becoming Sheeran's second number-one single after 19 weeks in the chart, and has been certified 2x Platinum, with sales of over 1 million copies in the United Kingdom. It also became his highest charting US single to date, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified 4x Platinum, with sales of over 4 million copies in the United States alone. "Thinking Out Loud" became an international success, peaking at number one in 12 countries, and the top five in 12 more. The remix to "Bloodstream" peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the fourth-consecutive single from x to hit the top 10 in Sheeran's native country. "Photograph" was released as the album's fifth single, and gave Sheeran his fifth consecutive top ten single from the album in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at numbers 9 and 8, respectively. It was also an international success, peaking inside the top 10 in ten countries.

In December 2014, Spotify named x the most-streamed album in the world for 2014, racking up more than 430 million streams for the year. x has been certified 7x Platinum in the UK with sales of over 2.1 million copies, making it one of the best selling albums in the history of the United Kingdom, and the sixth best selling album of the decade in the UK. It has also been certified 6x Platinum in Australia, 3x Platinum in Canada, 6x Platinum in New Zealand, and Platinum in the United States, with sales of over 1.7 million copies in the US. In 2015, x won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and at the 57th Grammy Awards it was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year.