Ed Sheeran was rejected by rapper Jay-Z after he asked him to collaborate on hit song Shape Of You.
The massively popular track was released in 2017 and earned Ed his third number one hit in the UK charts, where it remained for a jaw-dropping 14 weeks.
Ed has gone on to become one of the UK’s biggest stars, regularly selling out arenas around the world and releasing genuine earworms that have earned him the top spot on the charts many times over.
But back when he was writing Shape Of You, the song almost sounded very different, as the musician planned for a rap verse in the middle.
He has now revealed that he wrote to Jay-Z asking him to appear on the track, but was told in no uncertain terms that Jay wasn’t interested – and advised Ed that his song did not need a rap verse.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Lego House singer recalled being in fairly regular touch with the Numb/Encore star as Ed worked on his new album.
After penning Shape Of You, he decided Jay was the perfect candidate for a rap verse on the track and sent him the song to consider.
However Jay chose to decline the invitation after listening to the song, telling dad-of-two Ed: ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse.’
Ed called it a ‘very natural, respectful pass’ at collaborating, and admits Jay was ‘probably right.’
‘He’s got a very, very good ear. He usually gets things right,’ he said.
Shivers star Ed is now preparing to release his next album, – (pronounced Subtract), on May 5, in keeping with his albums having symbols rather than traditional titles.
The musician has also revealed he has five more albums in mind – each of which will follow the symbols titling – and the final one will not be released until after his death.
In the same Rolling Stone interview, he explained: ‘I want to slowly make this album that is quote-unquote “perfect” for the rest of my life, adding songs here and there, and just have it in my will that after I die, it comes out.’
This comes as it was announced Ed would be releasing a four-part TV series about his life called The Sum Of It All, which will be available to stream from May 3 on Disney+.
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