During his recent concert at Hard Rock Live, Ed Sheeran shared an intriguing tidbit with fans at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
He revealed that he actually handed over the massive hit "Love Yourself" to another artist because his inner circle didn't quite see its potential. Turns out Justin Bieber proved his friends wrong.
It should be noted though that Sheeran said a different thing when he was asked this same question back in 2017.
Why Ed Sheeran Gave Justin Bieber "Love Yourself"
"This is a song when I was writing 'Divide' I was writing a lot of songs about a lot of different things, and I wrote this song and honestly, I played it to people and they went, 'Meh,'" Sheeran shared. He was chuckling though, so it is apparent that he finds the plot twist quite amusing.
Sheeran, 33, then explained he played it for one more person, Justin Bieber.
Bieber decided he wanted it to be part of his hits, and Sheeran did not find anything wrong with that.
"I went, 'Cool, have it,' and then it got very big," he said jovially.
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Bieber's "Love Yourself" soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart in 2016, etching his name in history as the youngest artist to claim the coveted No. 1 spot on the chart.
In a twist of fate, the song's monumental success left the "Afterglow" singer facing an unexpected barrage of questions from friends.
They couldn't help but wonder why he would ever consider giving away such a smash hit, especially in light of its unparalleled triumph on the charts. He said he could not resist making his questioning friends guilty. "'You told me it wasn't good,'" Sheeran recalled saying.
However, thanks to his songwriting credits, he is afforded the the liberty to perform it whenever he pleases, despite it ultimately becoming a hit for the "Baby" singer.
This is why Sheeran treated the Hard Rock audience to "Love Yourself."
He Said It Was Too Harsh
This is not the first time that Sheeran explained why he ended up giving the song away though. But back in 2017, he seemed to have provided a completely different reason, claiming that if he were to sing the song, he would end up hurting a lot of people in his life.
In a candid conversation with q, Sheeran opened up about his decision, revealing that the song felt "too personal" and perhaps a tad "harsh" for his own repertoire.
"I've ruined friendships and relationships with people that I know by putting songs on my album," he shared, even citing specifically his 2014's "The Man" and "Don't" hits, all off his album x.
"They're songs that people play on the radio but they have big repercussions in my personal life. 'Love Yourself' would have really, really, really f--ked up some stuff so I was never ever going to record it or put it on an album."
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