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DETROIT (WXYZ) — Ed Sheeran surprised a small crowd at a Detroit sushi bar Wednesday night, stepping up to the karaoke mic and performing a duet with a fan just minutes before closing time.
Kevin Reddy, a karaoke night regular at Sakazuki in Detroit’s Book Tower, spotted Sheeran at Hiroki-San, the restaurant downstairs, and struck up a conversation.
“And so then towards the end of that conversation, I was like hey, you know, I did queue up ‘Thinking Out Loud,’ and he’s like, ‘let’s do it.’ And so he immediately was game and we walked up here and it was, I mean, probably only like six or seven people left because it was like 10:50 and they close at 11,” Reddy said.
Naomi Scott, general manager of both Sakazuki and Hiroki-San, said her staff could hardly believe what was unfolding.
“They just were talking about what if he came up and he did his song for karaoke, and then little did they know, you know, he did,” Scott said.
Scott said her team was elated as Sheeran performed for the handful of people still in the bar.
“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone, for the team, for all the guests, for all of our regulars that come every karaoke, every Wednesday,” Scott said.
Tyler Hedley was in the bar and captured the moment on video. The clip has since racked up tens of thousands of likes on TikTok.
“I am the biggest fan. Like he’s my all-time favorite. I stood right there and he was singing right there,” Hedley said.
Hedley said he had hoped to get a little more out of the night.
“Maybe, I’ll get to sing with him this time. That was what I really wanted,” Hedley said.
Reddy said the impromptu performance was made even more memorable by how down-to-earth Sheeran was throughout the night.
“And just the fact that he was just so willing to get to know us and talk to us, just icing on the cake for sure,” Reddy said.
Reddy said the two genuinely connected.
“I feel like at any point, he could have been like, you know, good to see you, have a good night, but he, I think it was just we built that rapport. I made him laugh, which is like crazy to say and then we had just a blast. I mean, you could see with the video, it was just an amazing, amazing time,” Reddy said.
With Sheeran set to return to Detroit next Saturday for a concert at Ford Field, the staff at Sakazuki is hoping he stops by again — maybe even for an encore.
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