Richard Ashcroft has called for people to "stop knocking" Ed Sheeran's success.
The former Verve frontman - whose new acoustic greatest hits collection, 'Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1', has proved a huge hit - is "buzzing" that the British star has become a global megastar and says people should "celebrate" the huge feat because it's not easy to break America.
Discussing his and ex-Oasis frontman pal Liam Gallagher's resurgence in popularity after the demise of their respective bands, the 50-year-old rocker told The Sun newspaper: “Me and Liam have got a second wind –– the sails are full and the ship is flying and I’m fired up to play more shows and keep this sailing.
“The problem is that we don’t celebrate when people are doing well in music.
Look at Ed Sheeran, I’m buzzing at how huge he is here and in America. We can be too cynical about people who are doing all right. Let’s stop knocking him. He’s British and I know how hard it is to be huge in America.”
The 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' hitmaker also slammed the lack of music with "real voices", with autotune taking over American pop music.
He said: “The problem with singers today is autotune.
“We don’t hear real voices anymore, especially in American music.
“There’s hardly any song released with someone physically singing down the microphone without a load of stuff added on it.
“No one knows what you actually sound like if you don’t establish your authentic voice from the start.”
After his acoustic project and his recent comeback gigs, Richard is keen to get back into the studio and record "10 monster tunes".
He said: “I’ve been inspired by music and what I want to do next. I started this other project which was more sample-based — the complete opposite to what I’ve done before.
"But having made this album and felt the vibe at my recent gigs, it’s pushed me to want to go into a room and write 10 absolute monster tunes.
“The gigs have sent me off the edge. They’ve made me think, ‘Rich, you do this really, really well. Why don’t you try and do what you do but even better?’
“I also want to stretch out of genres. I don’t like being put in a genre.
“I don’t want to be just known as somebody creating acoustic music, as I like electronic things too. Hopefully whatever I do next will be eclectic but still me."
