Ed Sheeran has made a surprising revelation about his two famous tracks.
The singer revealed that two of his biggest hits were originally written with Rihanna in mind.
The 34-year-old singer said that he initially wanted Rihanna to record both tracks, ‘Shape of You’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’, which was crafted by him alongside Benny Blanco.
“I think out of any musician, Rihanna has the best taste out of anyone. She always picks just really, really great songs. So, as songwriters within the songwriting community, you’re always writing songs to pitch to Rihanna.
“Like every single album that I’ve ever done, I’ve always gone, ‘Right, let’s try and write a song that we can pitch to Rihanna.’ “
Ed Sheeran
Of his and Benny Blanco’s 2015 track ‘Love Yourself’, which was recorded by Justin Bieber, he added: “Love Yourself, actually — the one I did for Bieber — originally had Rihanna in mind, ‘Oh, we should do something for her’.” “I promise you, there’ll be so many songwriters out that their best song came from trying to write a Rihanna song,” he said.
While Ed Sheeran’s 2017 track ‘Shape of You’ became the first song to get two billion streams on Spotify and is the platform’s second most played tune, with 4.2 billion streams, he admitted he didn’t initially intend to record it himself because he “didn’t really feel like it suited” his performance style.
“Even though I wrote it, I didn’t really feel like it suited me, and I changed little bits about it and produced it with — it’s got a lot of acoustic guitar slaps on it, so it sort of sounds like I would do it live, and then it suited me a bit more. I had to get my head around it, though, because I very much wrote it with someone else in mind.”
Ed Sheeran
He confirmed his next album will be called ‘Play’ and explained he’s always had a specific 10-record plan in mind after being inspired by director Quentin Tarantino.
“When I was like 18, I had an idea for 10 albums, and it was Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract, Equals, and then Play, Pause, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Stop. So, I’ve always had — I wanted to do 10.
“I’m kind of a bit obsessed with Tarantino, and I heard he was doing 10 films, and he’s got his side projects like Grindhouse and s***. So I’m like, I want to do my 10 and, every now and then, do a side project here and then.”
Ed Sheeran
And Ed Sheeran is already thinking about a special compilation he wants to be released after he dies.
Asked if he’ll quit making albums after ‘Stop’, he said: “I kind of want to make an album for the whole of my life where you put, like, different songs on, and then it’s in your will that comes out the day you die, and it’s called Eject.”
“I’m not joking. Imagine when [Paul] McCartney passes away, and there’s a record that he’s made that there’s a song from when he’s 16, there’s a song from when he’s 20, there’s a song from when he’s 30. It’d be fascinating.”
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran Discusses His Cellphone Hiatus
Ed Sheeran revealed that he hasn’t used his cellphone since 2015, a decision that inspired his new song “Old Phone.”
The four-time Grammy Award winner discussed his cellphone hiatus during an appearance in an interview.
He explained that the turning point came amid a legal battle surrounding his song “Thinking Out Loud,” where he was ordered to surrender his devices for evidence in the copyright infringement case. The case concluded in his favor in 2023.
Since then, Ed Sheeran switched to using a tablet for communication and completely disconnected from his phone. “I switched it off in 2015 and left it in a box,” Sheeran shared.
However, after receiving his phone back following the lawsuit, he turned it on and was flooded with old notifications, which took him on an emotional journey.
“The first text was from a friend who passed away the year before. The second was an argument with an ex-girlfriend, the third from a family member I hadn’t spoken to in 10 years. The fourth was another friend who had died.”
Ed Sheeran
The flood of memories led him to write “Old Phone,” a song that reflects both deep emotional moments and the lighthearted frustrations of everyday life.
Additionally, Sheeran has opened a pop-up pub called “Old Phone” in Ipswich, Massachusetts, inspired by the song. Guests must bring their old phone and find a meaningful message or video, which will be projected onto the pub’s walls.
The pub will be open for two days, March 28 and 29, serving Guinness and tater tots as part of the experience.
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