Songs you may not know Ed Sheeran wrote for other artists

Ed Sheeran has a catalogue of famous songs, but he’s also written other famous tunes for other artists.

With seven albums under his belt and a career that spans almost 20 years, Ed Sheeran already has many iconic songs in his catalogue. If you’re attending one or both of his shows here in Thailand, there’s no doubt you’re looking forward to hearing him perform “Thinking Out Loud”, “Perfect”, “Bad Habits”, and other favourites. But Sheeran has also written many songs for other artists. He features on these songs for some, but for the most part, he just lends his writing talent and hands it over to the artist. 

You’ll probably know most, if not all, of these songs, but you may not be aware that Sheeran had a hand in writing them. However, once you are, his lyrical influence becomes very obvious. 

6 songs written by Ed Sheeran for other artists

“Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber

This song is probably the one everyone knows Sheeran wrote but is sung by someone else. Originally, he was planning to give it to Rihanna, envisioning her singing this “freedom anthem” of sorts with a bit of an edge because the original lyrics were… well, “f**k yourself”. Eventually, Sheeran gave it to Justin Bieber and the rest is history. 

“Everything Has Changed” – Taylor Swift

Taytay and Sheeran have been friends for some time. Their most recent collaboration was “The Joker and the Queen” on his album =, but this song was the very first time they worked together. It was released as a single back in 2013 and was also included in Swift’s album, Red. Swift said that she and Sheeran wrote the song on the trampoline in her backyard. Another fun fact is that this song’s music video features two child actors who would appear ten years later in the music video for “The Joker and the Queen” as teenagers.

“Little Things” – One Direction

This song has become one of the British boy band’s well-known songs but was actually penned by Sheeran and Fiona Bevan. Sheeran said that he had written it with Bevan when they were teenagers but the song got lost. When she found it again, he just happened to be in the studio with One Direction, who immediately fell in love with the song when they heard him play it. 

“Hello My Love” – Westlife

Something that not a lot of people may know is that Sheeran has actually written a number of songs for the Irish boy band Westlife. The song was the lead single off their album “Spectrum”, which was released in 2019. It was also the first time in nine years that the group were releasing brand new songs, and “Hello My Love” was the first one out of the gate, which manager Louis Walsh described as “an introduction to their new sound”. They opened their 2019 concert here in Thailand with this song.

“Renegades” – One Ok Rock 

If someone told you that the main theme for the film adaptation of a popular Japanese manga was written by Ed Sheeran, you’d probably think it was a Mad Libs joke. But this is exactly what this song is. Japanese rock band One Ok Rock opened for Sheeran in his concert here in Bangkok back in 2019. Clearly, that was just the start of their collaboration. The song is the main theme for Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, the live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name. 

“River” – Eminem

Sheeran had been a long-time fan of Eminem. He even said that Eminem’s songs helped him conquer his stutter, and the influence of rap has been evident in his work ever since. While this song marks their first collaboration, it wouldn’t be their last. Eminem even invited Sheeran to perform “Stan” with him when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

[Hero image: Ed Sheeran/Facebook]