Ed Sheeran reveals the hits he nearly didn't release and the reasons why

Ed Sheeran is known for his many hits over the years such as 'The A Team', 'Thinking Out Loud', and 'Beautiful People', however it turns out that several big hits, and album tracks might have never been released by the singer.

Revealing to his fans on Instagram, that he has created a playlist called 'Songs I Wrote That Almost Didn't Make it', Ed shared details of six songs that he wrote, which he didn't think he'd release for various reasons.

6 songs Ed Sheeran wrote that almost didn't make it

From his smash hit, 'Shape of You', which was going to be offered to Little Mix, and then Rihanna, to his '-' album track 'The Hills Of Aberfeldy', which was eventually released 11 years after it was written, find out more about Ed Sheeran songs that he almost didn't release.

'You Need Me, I Don't Need You'

As well as sharing a video from 2011, Ed told his fans: 'I wrote this when I was 15, it’s my oldest song that I still play live. It was a fan fav but was hard to replicate the energy on a recording, which is why it almost didn’t make Plus, but we got there.' (sic)

'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' was originally released as part of Ed's EP in 2009, but a new version was recorded and released in 2011, and went to Number 4 in the UK.

'The Hills Of Aberfeldy'

In the caption, Ed explained: 'Me & @foyvance wrote The Hills Of Aberfeldy in 2012 whilst on tour there in Scotland. Subtract was meant to be the album after Plus, and ‘Feldy was meant to be the last track. Plans changed & Multiply came next, but I always wanted it to end Subtract once it was finally released'.

As he explained, 'The Hills Of Aberfeldy' is the last track on his 'Subtract' album. Although written in 2012, the song, as part of the album would not be released until 11 years later, in 2023.

'Shape of You'

Earlier this year, Ed revealed that when he wrote 'Shape of You' he had Rihanna in mind, however it turns out he was also thinking of Little Mix when he penned his hit.

Explaining on Instagram, he said: 'Here’s me doing Shape of You in 2016. I’d finished Divide & wanted to write big pop songs for other artists with @rokstoneprod & @jmd_snowpatrol. The first thing Steve played was the SOY riff & we started the song with Little Mix in mind, then we decided to pitch it to Rihanna. My label convinced me to keep it & by golly I’m glad they did'.

'Shape of You' was a double lead single from his third album, along with 'Castle On The Hill'. The song went to Number 1 around the world, and was certified 10× Platinum in the UK.

'Thinking Out Loud'

'Thinking Out Loud', or 'ToL' as Ed calls it in his caption, was written by Ed and Amy Wadge, who he has written several songs with.

He wrote: '@wadge1975 came to visit in 2014 to hear Multiply & hang out. There’s never a time we hang where we don’t write something and ToL came out of a jam after dinner. It felt like it was too late to make the album but recorded it anyway. It made the final tracklist & took us all by surprise when it came out'. (sic)

'Thinking Out Loud' was released in the same year it was written, and became a Number 1 hit for Ed. The song went on to be nominated for Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

'I'm A Mess'

'I'm A Mess' featured on Ed's second album 'x', as he explains in his caption, he wrote it in his new shower room, because he liked the acoustics.

'I’m a Mess was very similar to ToL,' he wrote. 'I thought I’d finished it too late for the album. I was doing up my house and had a new shower room put in. The acoustics were amazing, I started writing songs in there coz I love the way my voice sounded (who doesn’t love singing in a shower). This is one of my fav songs ive ever made'. (sic)

'2step'

Ed Sheeran released '2step' in 2022, and along with several remixes of the song. The music video for the song was filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine before the war started, and all of the revenue from the YouTube streams went to help those in need in the country.

The singer explained he wanted another upbeat song for his album, writing: '2step came very late in the Equals album process, I wanted one more upbeat song for the album as it had a lot of slow songs & this is what came. Was so fun finding so many artists to make remixes of it, one of my fav things I did in 2022'.

As well as all of these amazing songs, Ed Sheeran has also written several hits for other artists, including Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and One Direction.

Take a look through songs written by Ed Sheeran for other artists:

Now read:

Ed Sheeran surprises fans by revealing 'Shape of You' was written with Rihanna in mind 😮

Songs you didn't know Ed Sheeran had written for other artists

Ed Sheeran's albums: Facts and figures for his super successful records

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