Ed Sheeran is first UK artist to receive the Gold BRIT Billion Award

Earlier this year, the British Phonographic Industry established the BRIT Billion Award to honor artists whose songs have racked up a billion streams in the U.K. But Ed Sheeran has so many streams, they had to invent a whole new award for him.

Ed's the first British artist to receive the special-edition Gold BRIT Billion Award, which marks the fact that he's surpassed 10 billion career streams in the U.K. Over a billion of those streams came in the last 12 months alone.

Over his career, Ed has racked up three of the 10 most-streamed songs of all time in the U.K.: "Shape of You," "Perfect" and "Bad Habits."

In a statement, he said, "It’s wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams. I want say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys."

Among the artists who've received a BRIT Billion Award since it was established in May are Olivia RodrigoABBAColdplay, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Smith, Mariah Carey, Queen and Ellie Goulding.