An Ed Sheeran–Macklemore collabo at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday was destined to happen — one way or another. The rapper had originally asked the British singer to sit in with him but ended up not performing his own set. So, instead, Sheeran asked the Seattle-based star to team up on his set.
“I like Macklemore — I think he likes me,” Sheeran told Billboard backstage before the duo’s surprise duet of “Same Love,” one of the Las Vegas fest’s highlights on Saturday. Watch him talk about it below:
And for the U.K. star, who also performed hits including “Don’t,” “Sing” and “The A Team,” Macklemore’s socially conscious message behind the song is essential to the musical landscape. “I think it’s making homosexuality more acceptable within hip-hop to have one of the biggest rappers out there speaking about it quite openly,” says Sheeran. “I love the way he did it at the Grammys. It’s good to have songs out there — songs that make people think. Songs that aren’t just about having a good beat and you can dance to.”
Sheeran, who currently has several songs on the Hot 100, including “Sing,” feels like his success in the U.S was first cemented when he toured with good friend Taylor Swift on her Red tour in 2013. “Middle America is the tough bit,” he explains. “I think that’s when you’ve cracked America when you play places like that.”
iHeartRadio’s 5 Best Performances
So, if someone were to play Sheeran in a biopic, who would it be? “Rupert Grint, because he already has,” referring to the Harry Potter star standing in for Sheeran in his “Lego House” video.
iHeartRadio Fest Saturday Highlights: Iggy Azalea Pulls Double Duty, Lorde Inspires Hair Envy
But Sheeran says he needs a lot more time for a movie about his life to be compelling. “A biopic of my life would be a very, very short film. It would be like a two-minute affair. ‘Oh, he plays guitar’ — over,” he joked. “Give me like 50 years and let me take more drugs.”
— Reporting by Andrew Hampp