Ed Sheeran has revealed which of his songs he regrets releasing and discussed why he chose to build a chapel with its own burial crypt on his estate.
The singer, 32, spoke to GQ in a new interview, where he detailed the vulnerability in his songwriting process and how he believes it to be the secret to his success.
He said: ‘I think that any song that people connect with has to feel uncomfortable while you’re writing it.’
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He pointed to his hit 2017 song Perfect, which he wrote for his wife Cherry Seaborn, two months into their relationship and his recent emotional track Salt Water from his 2023 album Subtract (-).
Ed said: ‘When I was writing ‘Perfect’ I thought, This is really cheesy; Cherry is gonna think that I’m like the cheesiest f***ing boyfriend.
‘And you know, when I was writing ‘Salt Water,’ which is all about imagining your own suicide, I was like, F**k, I don’t want to put this out and have my parents listen to this.’
But he confessed that the song he most regrets putting out into the world was The Man from his 2014 album Multiply (x), saying it made both him and other people ‘uncomfortable’.
Ed wrote the track after someone broke his heart, and has said that writing it was very therapeutic but personal, admitting he wished he had not released it.
He explained: ‘It felt super uncomfortable at the time, writing it, and everyone I played it to reacted in an uncomfortable way, which I thought was a good thing, and I put it out.
‘The album probably didn’t need that song. I probably needed to write it, but I didn’t need to release it.’
He has avoided playing The Man at his concerts in the decade since its release, performing it in Dusseldorf on tour and telling the crowd it was only its second live play ever.
Ed also spoke about the rumours that he is building a new chapel-style retreat with its own burial crypt on his £3.7million Suffolk estate.
He has spent £4 million buying five houses to create his country estate, dubbed Sheeranville, and an additional £3 million on extensive renovations – including a pub, tree house, underground music room and tunnels.
He had previously been given the green light to construct the church in his garden in 2019 and was given consent last January to add a 9ft by 6ft burial crypt, enough to fit two bodies under a slab in the floor of the building.
Speaking about the project, Ed explained he had wanted a place to mourn his departed friends and then decided he wanted to be buried there so his children could visit him.
He clarified: ‘I wouldn’t say it’s a crypt. It’s a hole that’s dug in the ground with a bit of stone over it, so whenever the day comes and I pass away, I get to go in there.’
He added: ‘People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills, and no one knows what to do.’
The interview comes as Ed was announced as the first British artist to receive a special-edition Gold BRIT Billion Award by the BPI, the representative voice for the UK’s world leading record labels and music companies.
The Castle On The Hill hitmaker was awarded the prize by Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens for being the first British artist to surpass 10 billion career streams in the UK.
He currently holds three of the 10 most-streamed songs of all time with Shape of You, Perfect and Bad Habits and has bagged six UK No.1 albums, seven BRIT awards, and 14 UK No.1 singles.
Discussing the honour, Ed gushed: ‘It’s wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams. I want to say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys x’.
Ed’s gong comes after Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo were made both presented with the BRIT Billion Award in August for their one billion U.K. streams.
By: MILLY VEITCH
Originally published at Daily Mail
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