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Ed Sheeran has revealed that he struggled to get a record deal because he was "ginger and chubby".

The Brit award winner said self-belief and perseverance helped him make it in the record industry, despite knock-backs on his appearance.

Sheeran once had to perform in an empty concert venue to just a sound engineer after nobody turned up.

"I thought this seriously isn't going to work," he said speaking to online youth TV channel .

"I felt every gig I played, fewer and fewer people would attend and this was going nowhere.

"Every single label I had gone to at the time had told me this song wasn't a hit, this song wouldn't work, and the fact that I was slightly chubby and ginger wasn't a good marketing tool for them.

"The way I maintained self-belief is that I knew I wasn't good at anything else so what else was I going to do?

"And secondly with the whole look and songs that the labels rejected I knew it was really important you stay true to yourself. Being an individual makes you stand out from the crowd."

The 22-year-old has won two Brit Awards for his debut album +.

Sheeran added: "It's like if you want something so badly go out there and grab, just keep on doing it.

"There are people out there who do want it just as much as you do, so it's just as important to keep pushing yourself and working at it."

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