Ed Sheeran has had a red-letter 2017, bookending the year with No. 1 Hot 100 hits, starting with the inescapable “Shape of You,” and ending with the swoon-worthy “Perfect.” While he managed to land Beyonce for a duet on the latter, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter also got to work with Eminem this year — and it’s more than just a high point of his 2017.
“Highlight of my career,” Sheeran commented of the collab to The Times. He said no more about Em in the interview, but recently detailed to Billboard that he recorded the track at Russell Crowe’s house in Australia with Eminem in mind, after the rapper’s manager asked for ideas back in March 2016.
In the same week Sheeran’s duet with Beyonce sits atop the Hot 100, Sheerios will get to hear the Ginger-haired singer’s track with Eminem when the Detroit MC drops his much-anticipated album Revival (due Dec. 15). And though Sheeran is clearly still making waves with his own music, he’s apparently already thinking of what’s next.
Sheeran told the outlet that he’s found inspiration for his ÷ follow-up, which likely isn’t quite what fans would expect. “My plan is a lo-fi album that will be my lowest-selling,” he said, “but most loved.”
Where did he get the inspiration for a lo-fi LP, especially after all the hit-making ability he’s perfected? Bruce Springsteen’s song “Nebraska,” which Sheeran discovered thanks to Game of Thrones star (and fellow Brit) Kit Harrington.
“We had a night out in New York, got back to his hotel to drink more, and he played ‘Atlantic City,'” Sheeran recalled. “Then, when I heard Nebraska…”
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He’s (rightfully) in no hurry to make his next record, as he gave no details on timing (“it could be out next year or it could take four,” as stated in the article). Fans seemingly won’t be seeing less of Ed in 2018, though, especially thanks to the stadium tour on which he’ll embark next summer. And music may not be it, either: Sheeran also has a movie in the works.
According to the Times interview, the crooner is working on a musical film comparable to the popular Dublin-based Once. Seemingly yet untitled, the film will be set in Ipswich, a town in Suffolk, England — where Sheeran is from and currently resides — and he will star. But don’t think he’s going to be making a career switch anytime soon: “I just want to make one movie,” he insisted.
Sheeran also discussed the ups and downs of fame, his Game of Thrones role and more in the interview. Check out the full article here.