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

From 'Shape of You' to 'Thinking Out Loud'

Ed Sheeran
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 7th Aug 2024
Last updated 8th Aug 2024

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:

Olly Murs - 'Love Shine Down', featuring Jessie J (2010)

'Love Shine Down' featuring Jessie J was an album track on Olly's self-titled album from 2010, co-written by Ed, Olly and four other people.


Hear the song on YouTube here.

One Direction - 'Little Things' (2012)

Co-written by Ed, 'Little Things' was a Number 1 hit for the boy band One Direction in 2012. It appeared on their second album, 'Take Me Home', and Ed worked with songwriter Fiona Bevan and producer Jake Gosling to create it.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.


They also worked together on 'Moments', from their debut album 'Up All Night'.

Taylor Swift - 'Everything Has Changed' featuring Ed Sheeran (2013)

Written by both Ed and Taylor, this single reached the Top 10 around the world in 2013.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.


Ed and Taylor also worked together on 'End Game' from her sixth album 'Reputation', released in 2017.

One Direction - '18' (2014)

'18' was another song released by One Direction and written by Ed Sheeran. It was a promotional song released in 2014.


Hear the song on YouTube here.

Jessie Ware - 'Say You Love Me'

Ed co-wrote 'Say You Love Me' and even provided backing vocals for Jessie Ware's track. The stripped back love song features on her fourth album 'Tough Love' which came out in 2014.

Hilary Duff - 'Tattoo' (2015)

Disney star Hilary Duff released her 5th album 'Breathe In. Breathe Out.' in 2015, worked with Ed on the song 'Tattoo'.


Watch the video on YouTube.

Justin Bieber - 'Love Yourself' (2015)

Ed joined forces with Justin for 'Love Yourself' which was a hit in 2015 all around the world, reaching the top spot in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Sweden, as well as spending six weeks at Number 1 in the UK. Ed nearly kept the track for his own album, '÷', but it ended up with Justin instead.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.


Ed and Biebs also worked together on 'The Feeling', which appeared on his fourth album 'Purpose' released in 2015.

Rixton - 'Hotel Ceiling' (2015)

Released in 2015, this song was the third song from Rixton's debut album. Ed worked on the song with producer Benny Blanco, and the video starred Hollywood actress Alice Eve.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

Rudimental - 'Lay It All On Me' featuring Ed Sheeran (2015)

Co-written by drum and bass group Rudimental and Ed, this single was a hit in 2015 and appeared on the group's second album 'We The Generation' in that year. It was the second collaboration for Ed and the group, who co-wrote and also remixed 'Bloodstream' on Ed's album 'x'.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

The Weeknd - 'Dark Times' (2015)

Ed and The Weeknd worked together on 'Dark Times' for his second album, 'Beauty Behind the Madness'. As well as writing the song together, Ed also provided vocals on the track.

Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and Mø - 'Cold Water' (2016)

Ed was also co-writer on another Justin Bieber track, which also worked with DJ group Major Lazer, made up of Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, with the song also featuring Danish singer and producer MØ. It reached Number 1 in the UK in 2016.


Watch the lyric video on YouTube here.

Matt Terry - 'When Christmas Comes Around' (2016)

Ed worked with his collaborator Amy Wadge for The X Factor 2016 winner Matt Terry on his winners' single, 'When Christmas Comes Around'.


Watch the official music video on YouTube.

Robbie Williams - 'Pretty Woman' (2016)

'Pretty Woman' is featured on Robbie's album, 'The Heavy Entertainment Show', released in 2016. Ed co-wrote the song with Robbie, teamed up with Benny Blanco again and also producer Steve Robson for the track.


Hear the song on YouTube here.

Eminem - 'River' (2017)

Ed co-wrote and appeared on Eminem's track 'River' from his 2017 album 'Revival'. It reached Number 1 in the UK charts and was also certified Platinum. The music video for the song received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the MTV VMAs 2018.


Watch the official video on YouTube.

Zara Larsson - 'Don't Let Me Be Yours' (2017)

This song was co-written by Zara and Ed along with some other songwriters including Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid. Ed also provided backing vocals on the track, which appeared on Zara's second album 'So Good', released in 2017.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

James Blunt - 'Make Me Better' (2017)

James hired Ed's songwriting talents for his 5th album 'The Afterlove', working on both 'Make Me Better' and 'Time of Our Lives'.


Listen to the song on YouTube.

Liam Payne - 'Strip That Down', featuring Quavo (2017)

The debut solo single from former One Directioner Liam Payne was co-written by Ed, Liam and Quavo who also features on the track. Ed also provided uncredited backing vocals for the song, which reached Number 3 in the UK charts.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.


They also worked together on Liam's 2019 single 'Stack It Up' featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie.

Rita Ora - 'Your Song' (2017)

Rita Ora made her comeback in 2017 with a song penned by the fantastic Ed, which also served as the lead single from her second album, 'Phoenix, released in 2018.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

DJ Snake and Lauv - 'A Different Way' (2017)

DJ Snake and Lauv worked together on 'A Different Way' in 2017, roping in Ed for the songwriting along with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, as well as Steve Mac, Ilsey Juber and Lindy Robbins.


Watch the official video on YouTube.

Anne-Marie - '2002' (2018)

Anne-Marie's most popular song as it stands is '2002', which she co-wrote with Ed and who encouraged her to release it as a single. It peaked at Number 3 in the UK charts.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

Olly Murs - 'Moves' featuring Snoop Dogg (2018)

Ed and Olly teamed up once again in 2018 for Olly's comeback single, 'Moves', which also featured vocals from Snoop Dogg. The track featured on the soundtrack for Johnny English Strikes Again.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

Jess Glynne - 'Thursday' (2018)

Ed helped Jess Glynne pen this song, which is all about how people shouldn't be forced to hide behind a mask and should feel free to express themselves. Jess has stated that it's one of her "favourites", and that it's "close to her heart".


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

Little Mix - 'Woman Like Me' featuring Nicki Minaj (2018)

Little Mix's feminist powerhouse track featuring Nicki Minaj was actually co-written by Ed himself along with Jess Glynne for her own album, 'Always In Between', but said that it "didn't fit" with the other songs and gave it to Little Mix instead.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.

Keith Urban - 'Parallel Line' (2018)

Ed worked with country music star Keith Urban on his single 'Parallel Line' which featured on his 10th album 'Graffiti U'. Ed and Keith worked with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid as well as Benny Blanco, Amy Wadge and Julia Michaels - and also features a sample of 'Everglow' by Coldplay from their album, 'A Head Full of Dreams'.


Listen to the song on YouTube.

'Because I Had You' - Shawn Mendes (2018)

Shawn worked with Ryan on his self-titled third album, released in May 2018. Ryan co-wrote 'Particular Taste' and 'Because I Had You', and also co-produced both of those songs.


Listen on YouTube.

Boyzone - 'Because' (2018)

Boyzone teamed up with Ed for 'Because', the lead single from their final album 'Thank You & Goodnight', released in 2018. It was written by Ed along with lead singer Ronan Keating as well as John Shanks and Amy Wadge.


Watch the official music video on YouTube.

Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid - 'Eastside' (2018)

Singers Halsey and Khalid teamed up with producer Benny Blanco on 2018 track 'Eastside', working with Ed on the songwriting. The track went to Number 1 in the UK and was also certified 2x Platinum.


Watch the official music video on YouTube.

BTS - 'Make It Right' (2019)

South Korean band BTS worked with Ed on their 2019 song 'Make It Better', which appeared on their EP 'Map of the Soul: Persona'. They released another version of the song later in 2019 with featured singer Lauv.


Watch the official music video on YouTube.

Westlife - 'Hello My Love' (2019)

Ed Sheeran wrote the comeback single for Irish band Westlife, 'Hello My Love', which appeared on their 2019 album 'Spectrum'. The song became a massive hit with Westlife fans.


Watch the music video on YouTube here.


Ed also worked with Westlife on some of their other 'Spectrum' album tracks: 'Better Man', 'Dynamite', 'My Blood' and 'One Last Time', as well as non-album track 'Anywhere'.

Anne-Marie - 'Beautiful' (2021)

In July 2021, Anne-Marie released her track 'Beautiful', co-written by Ed Sheeran and Max Martin. The track features on her second studio album 'Therapy', which was released on 23rd July 2021.

JLS - 'Eternal Love' (2021)

Fans were over the moon when JLS announced that they were getting back together - not only were the boys heading on a reunion tour, but they were even releasing new music. And what better way to break out onto the music scene again than by releasing a track co-written by Ed Sheeran?!


The track 'Eternal Love' featured on JLS's latest album '2.0', which was released on 3rd December 2021.


Watch the music video on YouTube

Camilla Cabello -'Bam Bam' (2022)

Ed joined Camilla Cabello on her track 'Bam Bam' and even co-wrote the song. According to Camilla they worked together with Ricky Reed and Scott Harris to turn an older version of the song into the Latin hit it is now, and it only took them a day to write and record it!


Watch the music video on YouTube

Lewis Capaldi - 'Pointless' (2022)

Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi spoke about the process of writing his song 'Pointless' with Ed, telling the BBC he was hesitant to collaborate with him: "Every British artist who has a Number 1 record seems to have Ed on it. That's a testament to how good he is but I was wary of it. My ego was going, 'I don't want people thinking Ed wrote my song'."


In the end, the pair did work together and co-wrote the track, which was released on Friday 2nd December and will feature on Lewis' second album, 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent', slated for release in 2023.


Watch the lyric video on YouTube.

David Guetta, Anne-Marie, Coi Leray - 'Baby Don't Hurt Me' (2023)

Ed is credited as a writer on David Guetta's huge track 'Baby Don't Hurt Me', which features Anne-Marie and Coi Leray. The song also features a sample from the classic dance track, 'What is Love?' by Haddaway.

Perrie - 'Forget About Us' (2024)

Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards released her first solo single in April 2024 and it was co-written by Ed Sheeran. The singer revealed Ed sent her the song which she loved, and after making a few tweaks to it she recorded it.

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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