Ed Sheeran’s latest goal is to conquer the world.
The British songwriter may be popular on both sides of the Atlantic, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to relax. He doesn’t feel right unless he is working towards something, so has decided to push even harder this year.
“Each year I create a goal for myself,” he told British newspaper The Daily Star. “This year it’s the world. I really want to sweep the globe.”
Ed recently debuted some new music, with the track Sing produced by man-of-the-moment Pharrell Williams. The two men had a good time working together, although Pharrell had to take Ed in hand at some points.
“He is soul. I felt uncomfortable at first but it was him pushing me out of my comfort zone because we did two other songs that were very similar to the style I usually do,” he explained.
“He was saying, ‘There’s no point having a session with me if you don’t come over to my side a little.’ I had a clear idea what I wanted and that was the problem. I was becoming predictable.”
Sing comes from Ed’s new record x, which will hit stores in June. The album also boasts a track called Don’t which is about a failed relationship and an ex-girlfriend who was unfaithful to Ed with one of his friends. He had no qualms about writing the intense lyrics, insisting anyone who dates him has to expect to be used as inspiration.
“The last album was more young and dewy-eyed and innocent,” he told Billboard. “I’ve still got very nice songs on this record but some of them are bitey.
“The story in Don’t is 100 per cent true. I could have gotten nastier – there was more sh*t that I didn’t put in.
“I was seeing someone for a bit, and then they ended up physically involved with one of my friends in the same hotel that we were staying in, while I was downstairs. And I feel like, ‘Treat people how you want to be treated.’”
There is speculation that Don’t is about fellow singer Ellie Goulding, who Ed dated for a time last year.
