Ed Sheeran Teaches Brooklyn Kids to Rock Out and Brush Their Teeth

Ed Sheeran traded stadium lights for fluorescent classroom bulbs when he became a substitute teacher for a day. The pop superstar stopped by a public school in Brooklyn for a new episode of the web series Celebrity Substitute, which aired Wednesday, Oct. 22. His mission: to show a room full of elementary school students how to make music using looper pedals—the same tool he uses at his sold-out shows.

The result? A wonderfully ridiculous, toe-tapping song about one of life’s most important daily routines: brushing your teeth.

Before class began, Sheeran admitted to host Julian Shapiro-Barnum that he wasn’t entirely sure how things would go. “It’ll either go really well and you’ll be like, ‘That was great,’ or it’ll really fail and you’ll get a lot of clicks,” he joked.

Music teachers Mr. Chung and Mr. Hampton were a little skeptical of Sheeran’s plan. They called his lesson “ambitious,” since it involved teaching rhythm, finding unique sounds, rehearsing, and performing all in one day. But Sheeran—quickly nicknamed “Mr. Ed” by the kids—was up for the challenge.

He started class with a soft, acoustic version of his 2014 hit “Photograph,” instantly winning over his new students. Then came the fun part: the loop machine. One by one, the kids took turns adding sounds to the growing track. Some sang. Some played saxophone. Others just made silly noises. And somehow, it all worked.

As the beat built up, so did the energy in the room. Eventually, their jam session turned into a mini-concert, complete with a brand new song. A student kicked it off with the lyric, “I woke up one day, I brushed my teeth.” Sheeran jumped in, singing, “I’m brushing my teeth, I’m brushing my teeth, oh yeah,” as the whole class grooved along.

When the performance ended, Mr. Chung couldn’t help but smile. “I was prepared to tear you down and cut you to pieces, but you got my heart,” he told Sheeran. “You’re a musician. You get it. Everyone’s having a good time. That’s what music is about.”

It turns out that being around kids isn’t new for Sheeran. He and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, are parents to two daughters: Lyra, 5, and Jupiter, 3.

Sheeran recently released his latest album Play on Sept. 12 and will hit the road in December for his Loop Tour, which runs through November 2026. But even with a schedule packed with concerts, family remains his top priority.

“My girls have been on tour with me since [the] start of Mathematics,” Sheeran said in an episode of Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals. “I feel like my life only works when we’re together.”

Though his career keeps him busy, Sheeran says it no longer feels like an obligation. “I love touring, I love songwriting,” he explained. “Touring has gotten to a point now, because of where my career’s at, that it can fit around my family and I can dictate what I do.”

That flexibility, he added, makes all the difference. “If I’m like, ‘I only want to play Saturdays,’ that’s what I do. If I want to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I can do that as well… And I think being at a stage in my career where my family life takes precedence and I can do all that as well—it’s kind of the perfect balance.”

In the end, Ed Sheeran’s classroom experiment was more than a viral moment. It was a reminder that music can be simple, joyful, and, yes, even about brushing your teeth.