A Quick Chat with Ed Sheeran

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Surrounded by a group of men, he looks almost tiny in comparison, smack in the middle. They walk with unison, his head bent down. Feeling anxious I would imagine. I heard he’s not a fan of all the extra attention. The media crowd was given a warning before hand to behave around him. I felt sympathetic for him, being stared at, being secretly filmed so people can put him on social media. He looked like a new kid in school, just so self conscious and shy. So without thinking much, I said, “Hi Ed!” He looked up, gave a smile that seemed to thank me for breaking the awkward tension in the room (or at least I hope that was what the smile meant). Yes, I just casually said hi to Ed Sheeran.

That was when I realized, we’re all human. It doesn’t matter if you’ve won Grammys and performed in a million arenas across the world or if you bake cookies for a living and don’t really live a glamorous life…we all need human touch.

Being anchored seems to suit Sheeran well. He had taken a year off prior to the release of his latest album, ÷, travelling the world. He quips after taking a moment to think about it, “I think it had a profound effect on me as a person. Like making me excited about working again. But music wise I was writing the same sort of songs. So I don’t think it affected the songs but I think me personally, it helped out a lot.” Sheeran has since taken a healthier take on life. He’s quit smoking, a habit for the past thirteen years.

“I’ve grown up. I made my first album when I was 17 and now I’m 26. So I think I’ve just grown up.” Which explains why Sheeran has a data sheet sent to him every week. He claims that looking at sales sheets helps him pay more attention to what needs improvement. This meticulous analysis is definitely building the foundation for his music domination. It also helps that he isn’t a fan of listening to the critics.

“I feel like I’m just as loved as I am hated, and there’s not really anything in between, so it’s good to not really focus on either. Cause I think both of those extremes will send you mad if you think about it.”

“I’m not a music snob in any way. I don’t really care about what people think about me.” Which is clearly heard across his albums. It seems he has successfully blended genres together. “But I love crooners stuff. So I wanted to write a song…like I imagine Buble singing that.” Sheeran said referring to the song Perfect. “I really like that one. It was the first song I wrote for the album and it kinda just started the album off.”

Since his singles have hit the radio waves, you’d probably have heard Perfect, Shape of You and all of Sheeran’s hit songs a millions times. “The first time you hear it, wonderful! Because you’re like, I haven’t heard of this song on the radio. But now with Shape of You. I actually have to turn it down because I’ve heard it so many times now…just like everyone has!”

Just by being in the same room and observing him, he seems pretty laidback. Gingerly rubbing his chin, he said “You know what, I’m actually an emotionally closed off person. I’m quite shy in that aspect. And I think that’s why the songs are what they are because everything comes out through them.” I’m thinking that this is the recipe to the perfect wedding songs! Although Sheeran writes a lot of romantic songs, he finds serenading a bit weird. “I don’t know…I don’t think I’d ever. I know it’s in my music videos but it’s not something that I’d do because I don’t like to serenade a girl.”

Sheeran is known to be a one-man show and at times he was criticized for not having a band back him up. Although he still prefers to be a solo act, being part of a band could still be a possibility.

“I’d still be myself. If I were at all with a band. See, I go in and out of love wanting to do that. Some days like, “Oh I’d probably do that one day!” And then when I’m on stage, “Oh, I don’t think I want to.” So I don’t know if it’s going happen but it’s nice to have an option.”

But trust me, once you watch him create music on stage, you would see that it’s actually a mesmerizing work of art to see him work his Chewie Monsta (his loop pedal, fyi).

When he was in a recent cycling accident, fans were left horrified at the thought of concerts canceling around the world. But shy of a few weeks after the incident and after canceling a few shows, Sheeran makes a triumphant return much to the delight of his Sheerios (which is, if you must know - a name his fans call themselves). Sheeran reassures that all is well, “It’s good you know. The arms it aches a bit after the show but it’s fine in the morning. You know I came back to play the concerts a little bit early so it’s not properly healed yet but I’ll be fine.” Sheeran’s performance in Malaysia is his third show upon making a comeback. In one of his Instagram videos, Sheeran was seen coming off the stage in Singapore and immediately putting on a hand brace.

Just because he was in a cycling accident, doesn’t mean that that’s the last time you’ll see him zooming around town. “Sounds stupid but I broke my arm on the bike right, but me cycling is usually the way to do it. Coz you’re away from anyone, you don’t speak to anyone. You can’t check email or anything. I’m usually in the middle of the countryside. And you just think. Yeah, so I’d say cycle or driving but I prefer to cycle.” Sheeran says when asked about how he recharges himself.

The moment Sheeran appeared in the music scene, it paved the way for other Ed Sheeran-like musicians to come through. But does it worry him? “I think I have a fan base now. I’m not going to lose fans because someone else is doing well. I’ve hung out quite a bit with Shawn Mendes and he’s like super f***ing talented, really nice and his success does nothing to me but just be proud for his success. It doesn’t make me go, “Oh, I gotta be better.””

“I think that something I’ve learned over the years is competition doesn’t really exist. You just kinda do your own thing. And make what you’re proud of and the competition element of it comes in the working hard like, making sure you’re working harder than other people rather than making a better album because the best album you can make is the best that you can do.”