If you haven't heard an Ed Sheeran song before, then do you even listen to music? The singer-songwriter has produced many hits over the past 13 years. Writing for artists like Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Taylor Swift, Sheeran has proven time and again that he is not just a flash in the pan.
Sheeran is also known for his incredibly giving attitude. He's been known to surprise fans in the hospital when they need it the most, and has done more than just donate money to charities. Sheeran gets personally involved, donating his time to concerts, giving clothing to children's charities, and giving winter clothing to homeless people who need it during the winter.
But it's not only charities that Sheeran wants to help. On his new album, Sheeran performs a song about giving so much of himself to everyone around him that he can forget to take care of himself.
But if I don't
Then I'll go back
To where I'm rescuing a stranger
Just because they needed saving just like that
Oh, I'm here again
Between the devil and the danger
But I guess it's just my nature.
Sometimes, though, helping others does reward the singer-songwriter, and in one particular instance it gave him a #1 hit.
So what was the song, and how did it help?
In an interview with The Mirror in 2015, Sheeran revealed how a childhood friend approached him with a problem.
"[Amy Wadge] drove to my house "“ my album was nearly done "“ and she asked if I could put a song from when I was 17 on the deluxe album," he recalled. "So she could get a little bit of money and pay the mortgage and bills and stuff."
Wadge had previosuly gotten a publishing advance, but it ran out and she found her situation "financially difficult."
"While she was there, we wrote 'Thinking Out Loud,'" Sheeran revealed. "Now she never has to worry about money again."
'Thinking Out Loud' became Sheeran's second #1 hit in six months, and to this day he says it's his favorite song on the album. The song won a Grammy, and more importantly got Amy Wadge back on her feet.
Wadge and Sheeran have collaborated many more times, including on four song off his new album, Divide.
The best celebrities are the ones who recognize their privilege and help out others in situations they're familiar with.
Thank you for being you, Ed Sheeran!
