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Ed Sheeran · S3 E5
The Songwriter
Ed writes 'Little Things' for One Direction, earns a Grammy nomination, and the industry realizes he's more than a loop pedal
Syco Music offices, London, summer 2012. Ed Sheeran hands a demo of a song called "Little Things" to a room full of executives, and within weeks, One Direction will turn it into a number-one single in fourteen countries.
"Little Things" (One Direction, official music video, 2012). Ed Sheeran wrote this song on a tour bus and it became one of One Direction's biggest ballads, going to number one in the UK. The video is pure boy band warmth, but every lyric is classic Ed: specific, personal, no filler. This is the moment the music industry realized Ed wasn't just a performer. He was one of the best pop songwriters alive.
The Songwriter Behind the Curtain
By 2012, Ed wasn't just selling out his own shows. He was quietly becoming one of the most in-demand songwriters in pop. "Little Things" went to number one for One Direction. He also wrote "Moments" for their debut album. Labels were calling his management asking for songs before Ed had even finished writing them.
Sources
Music Week. "Ed Sheeran: Pop's Most Wanted Songwriter." 2013.
Billboard. "One Direction's 'Little Things' Tops UK Singles Chart." November 2012.
“I wrote 'Little Things' on a tour bus at three in the morning. I knew it wasn't for me. It was too sweet, too gentle. But I knew exactly who it was for.”
— Ed Sheeran on writing for One Direction, Rolling Stone, 2013
Little Things, One Direction (2012)
"Little Things" is built on a simple fingerpicked guitar pattern that Ed could have released himself, and that's what makes it interesting. The lyric catalogs tiny physical details about a person: freckles, dimples, the crinkles by their eyes. It's the opposite of a big pop chorus. The melody stays low and conversational, never climbing to a belt or a scream. Five voices share it gently, passing lines between them. Ed gave One Direction something no other writer had: a song that made a boy band sound intimate.
Sources
Sheeran, Ed. Interview. Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1, 2012.
Official Charts Company. "One Direction Singles Chart History."
TAP TO REVEAL: What happened when Ed's Grammy nomination was announced?
More Than a Loop Pedal
The Grammy nomination forced a question Ed had been avoiding. He'd built + around acoustic guitar, a loop pedal, and raw vocals. That formula had taken him to number one in Britain and onto Taylor Swift's tour. But to conquer America, to go from theaters to arenas, he needed more. By mid-2013, he was already thinking about what × would sound like.
Sources
Sheeran, Ed. Interview. GQ, 2014.
Rolling Stone. "Ed Sheeran's Next Move." 2013.
Staples Center, Los Angeles
The venue where the 55th Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013. Ed attended as a nominee for Song of the Year, his first time at the ceremony and his formal introduction to the American music industry.
Ed the Songwriter
Gold Rush, Ed Sheeran (2011)
A + deluxe bonus track that crackles with the ambition of someone who knows bigger things are coming. Ed's delivery is faster and more aggressive here than on most of +, almost like he's rapping over an acoustic guitar. It's the sound of a songwriter who's already bored by his own debut album and reaching for whatever comes next.
Gold Rush, Ed Sheeran (2011)
Ed's lyrics here move fast, packed with internal rhymes and double meanings that reward repeated listening. The flow is closer to grime than folk, a reminder that Ed grew up on Eminem as much as Damien Rice. There's a hunger in the writing that you don't hear on the polished singles. This is the version of Ed that labels didn't know how to market yet.
Which number-one hit did Ed Sheeran write for One Direction?
Ed had a number-one album, a Grammy nomination, and a reputation as pop's best songwriter. Next episode: the album closer that builds from a whisper to a scream, and the eight minutes that proved Ed could hold a stage with nothing but his voice.
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