Songs you probably didn't know Ed Sheeran wrote for other popular artists

ed sheeran and shawn mendes

Shawn Mendes performs "Mercy" with Ed Sheeran during the Illuminate Tour at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 16, 2017.
Taylor Colina/Getty Images
  • Ed Sheeran has had massive success equally a solo artist.
  • But he'south also the mastermind behind some of your favorite songs by other artists.
  • Here are all the tracks you'd probably be surprised to learn were penned by the British singer.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more than stories.

Sheeran wrote the track "Make It Correct," which concluded upwards on BTS' 6th EP.

"Make it Correct" is the fourth rail on BTS' EP "Map of the Soul: Persona."
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

"I actually wrote a song that I call up they might be messing with. I heard this the other solar day, but I don't know. I really like BTS, though. I think they're groovy," Sheeran told British website Heatworld in November 2018.

Then, on December 5, 2018, SUGA of BTS tweeted out a mysterious photo of him editing music, which had the English singer tagged in the explanation.

The aforementioned song made it on the group's honor-winning 2019 EP, "Map of the Soul: Persona" — positioned as the fourth runway titled "Brand Information technology Correct."

Sheeran cowrote Jessie Ware'southward "Say You Love Me," and fifty-fifty provided backing vocals.

"Say You Love Me" is the 4th rails on Jessie Ware'due south second studio anthology "Tough Dear."
CBS Photo Archive/via Getty Images

"Say You Love Me" is a rail that I didn't think was almost me, but now that I listen to information technology, it now completely reminds me of the feeling when my hubby and me broke up," Ware told Guardian Music in a 2014 interview.

Ware met Sheeran through the songwriter's cousin and the ii take known each other for quite some time, still, they've rarely worked together in a studio.

"With Ed Sheeran, I didn't know what to expect. I thought that we were going to hopefully write a really beautiful song and tell a good story," she said.

Benny Blanco, a record producer that has worked with Ware earlier and is a friend of Sheeran's, was besides an active participant in this projection.

While Ware preferred her music to be amplified, Blanco wanted to pull back the layers of the song, tone down the drums, and have the singer's vocalisation be center stage — a new technique that was scary for her, she told the publication.

Y'all can also hear Sheeran'southward vocalisation on the outro, along with the voices of Blanco's dad and brother, chanting: "Crusade I don't wanna autumn in beloved / If yous don't wanna try / Only all that I've been thinking of / Is maybe that you might."

Sheeran helped pen Benny Blanco's debut song as a atomic number 82 artist, "Eastside."

Benny Blanco released "Eastside" on July 12, 2018.
Andrew Kelly/Getty Images

Once once more, Sheeran joined forces with his close friend Blanco, to help the record producer release his kickoff song as a atomic number 82 artist.

Khalid, Halsey, and Happy Perez were as well writers on the pop song.

Blanco broke down the process of making the song in an interview for Billboard, saying that he procured an sometime demo he'd written with Sheeran, had Khalid send over his vocals from Denmark, and added Halsey'south vocals.

Presently "Eastside" was making its style into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Sheeran wrote "Fallin' All in Yous" in a college octave than Shawn Mendes was originally comfortable singing.

"Fallin' All in You" is the 2nd track on Shawn Mendes' cocky-titled third studio anthology.
Drew Gurian/Invision/AP

Shawn Mendes is a longtime fan of Sheeran'southward and when he finally got the chance to collaborate with the songsmith, his own artistry was challenged for the meliorate.

Mendes talked near the collaboration in a 2018 interview with Apple Music, saying that Sheeran made the claw of "Fallin' All in Yous" in falsetto, although the at present 22-year-sometime pop star had petty experience singing high notes dorsum then.

It took Mendes 4 months until he felt comfy singing the melody.

Sheeran and Hilary Duff hopped into the booth at midnight to record "Tattoo."

"Tattoo" is the 10th track on Hilary Duff'due south fifth studio anthology "Breathe In. Breathe Out."
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Hilary Duff returned to the music scene with her 2015 anthology "Exhale In. Breathe Out." Sheeran helped produce the 10th runway, "Tattoo," and made sure to leave his mark on the project.

Unlike a lot of collaborations amid musicians, Sheeran stepped into the booth with Duff to provide groundwork vocals and such, the quondam Disney star told MTV News.

"I was really intimidated because, normally, they don't do that, so I kept looking up and existence similar, 'You lot're Ed Sheeran and I'yard singing the song that you wrote and I want to do correct by it,'" she told the publication.

In order to work in the studio together, they had to navigate scheduling conflicts and meet in the eye of the dark.

"He had been doing a promo day in 50.A. and he'southward like, 'I know you have a two-twelvemonth-old, simply could you please come and record at midnight?'" Duff said.

"I was like, 'I've already been in bed for three hours by midnight on most nights,' but of course for him I did, and I'm such a huge fan — he'due south so talented."

Sheeran, who cowrote Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself," said it was originally titled "F--- Yourself."

"Beloved Yourself" is the 5th rail on Justin Bieber'due south quaternary studio album "Purpose."
Mike Rosenthal/Getty Images

"Love Yourself" is 1 of Justin Bieber's biggest songs.

In a 2017 interview on The Howard Stern Testify,  Sheeran told the host that the original lyrics to "Honey Yourself" are actually, "If you similar the way you expect that much, oh baby, you should become and f--- yourself."

However, in a 2019 interview with Majuscule FM, Blanco revealed that he urged Sheeran to rename the cheeky song to "Love Yourself."

"Certain music needs it, only it's super corny to me in some songs – in pop songs – when there's cursing," he said.

Sheeran forgot he wrote the No. 1 song, "Cold H2o."

Major Lazer released "Cold Water" on July 22, 2016.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The folk-popular singer worked with Bieber once more for the 2016 tape "Cold Water."

Diplo was caput of this project for his grouping Major Lazer and recruited Bieber and MØ for vocals.

Though, in a 2017 Capital FM interview, Sheeran explained that after receiving diverse emails from the American DJ asking for permission to use his vocal, he replied, "Mate, I don't know what you're talking nigh."

In add-on to confessing he forgot all about the well-liked vocal he'd written, Sheeran further revealed that the original version of "Cold H2o" was a lot slower.

"The vocal I did was really, actually slow and then suddenly they sped it up and fabricated it a affair. Then, I was very pleasantly surprised that that came out and was a No. 1 because I didn't remember writing it," he said.

Sheeran worked with Anne-Marie on "2002," a nostalgic song about the 2000s.

Anne-Marie released her single "2002" on April xix, 2018.
Tim P. Whitby/Stringer via Getty Images

Anne-Marie told the New York Post that she and Sheeran met in Paris through common friends circa 2010. And e'er since, the pair accept been working together – whether it was her opening upwardly for Sheeran on his 2018 bout or it was harmonizing in the studio together.

"2002" was a single from Anne-Marie'due south debut album, "Speak Your Mind," which was released in April 2018.

The song makes references to popular tracks throughout history. A standout lyric is: "Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, farewell, bye / Hold up, if you wanna take a ride with me / Better striking me babe, one more time."

DJ Ophidian released "A Unlike Way," featuring Lauv, on September 21, 2017.

DJ Serpent released "A Different Style" on September 21, 2017.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Snake recruited the likes of Sheeran, multi-laurels-winning producer Steve Mac, and Irish record producer Johnny McDaid to assistance him make "A Different Way."

"Your Song" was a last-minute project betwixt Rita Ora and Sheeran.

Rita Ora released her single "Your Song" on May 26, 2017.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images for MTV

"Ed and I have been friends since our teens. Information technology's brilliant to have the opportunity to collaborate with him for my start single. Nosotros definitely click creatively," the singer told Rolling Rock in May 2017.

While "Your Song" was the first unmarried to be released from her sophomore album "Phoenix,"  it was actually the last i to exist recorded.

"It was astonishing. It happened so randomly because it was really the last song I recorded for my album. I'd been doing my album for about nine months now, back in London, and we were talking almost me going to watch his bear witness, and I was like, 'You know, I've got to terminate this tape,'" Ora told Elvis Duran about working with Sheeran.

"I said, 'Look, I've got my mates on it, I've got my friends on it. I'd really love you to kind of be involved, but I know you lot're on a worldwide tour right now, then whatever, maybe next time. And he said, 'Funny you say that. I just wrote this.'"

"Thursday" was written as a event of Sheeran and Jess Glynne sharing "the same insecurities."

"Thursday" is the fourth rails on Jess Glynne'due south sophomore album "Always in Between."
Samir Hussein/Getty Images

"We had this long chat about life and we spoke about the highs and lows of existence famous and doing the task that we practice," the singer told Billboard in 2019 most working with Sheeran.

"It was actually reassuring talking to him, and knowing that he suffers from the same insecurities and understands exactly how the pressure gets to you at times," she added.

Harry Styles asked Sheeran for songs to put on 1 Management'southward debut album "Up All Dark" and they ended up with the ballad "Moments."

Ane Direction performs during a BBC charity concert in 2011.
Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

"That wasn't a calculated move at all. I'm just really adept friends with Harry from 1 Management," Sheeran told Watch Mojo about their collaboration.

"We just used to hang out and he said, 'We're putting together our album. We're fans of your music. Can you put forward whatever songs?' And I had a demo CD of loads of tunes that I was trying to get placed, and so I gave it to them and then it went on their album," he said.

"Little Things" by One Management contains one of Sheeran'southward "favorite lines that he'southward ever written in a song."

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Harry Styles.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel

"It's got 1 of my favorite lines that I've ever written in a song," Sheeran told Majuscule FM that he loves the line in which Styles sings "'I know you lot never like the sound of your vocalization on tape / You lot never like to know how much y'all counterbalance / You still have to squeeze into your jeans merely y'all're perfect to me.'"

Sheeran as well wrote "xviii" for One Direction.

One Direction released "18" aslope their fourth studio anthology "Four" on November 17, 2014.
Frazer Harrison/AMA2013/FilmMagic/Getty

"18" was a unique experience for Sheeran because it was the starting time song he had specifically written for 1 Management, instead of for himself.

"I got a text today saying it's definitely on the album. I wrote information technology in a hotel room in Cologne and I wrote it specifically for them," Sheeran said in a 2014 interview with Capital FM.

"It's the beginning time I've done that, so it'south a Ane Direction vocal rather than a 'me' vocal that they record. It's kind of a little bit of everything, it is ballad-y simply it is up-tempo at the aforementioned time. I wrote it by myself and I first played it to Simon Cowell and he really liked information technology and then they all heard it and vocalled it."

Sheeran sought out Liam Payne to record trap-infused pop ditty "Strip That Down."

Liam Payne released "Strip That Downward" on May 19, 2017.
Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock

"I was in 50.A. at my house. I was in the gym. We were feeling hot. And I got a call and they were like, 'Ed Sheeran's in the studio writing this song. It'due south virtually yous, it'southward for you lot, and then come down and have a heed,' so I was like 'Cool, I'm straight in,'" Payne told SiriusXM.

"I went in with Steve Mac and inside xxx minutes we'd finished it off, polished it off. It's great collaborating when you lot get to collaborate with people like Sheeran."

Sheeran wrote "Summer on You" for the boy band PRETTYMUCH.

PRETTYMUCH released "Summer on You" on June 21, 2018.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Writing for some other male child ring formed by Simon Cowell, Sheeran co-penned a summery tune for the Canadian fivesome.

Sheeran penned Why Don't Nosotros's "Trust Fund Baby."

Why Don't We released "Trust Fund Babe" on February ane, 2018.
Darren McCollester/Stringer/via Getty Images

"He'southward the man. Obviously, he's killing information technology in the whole music world. He's the male monarch of pop, singing, songwriting," Corbyn Besson of Why Don't We said in an interview with 98.8 Kiss FM.

"And we've grown upwards listening to him since the beginning of our band. Nosotros always say in interviews he'southward one of our biggest inspirations collectively, then to have him write a song for the states was an accolade," he added.

"Parallel Line," cowritten by Sheeran, "felt like abode right abroad" to Keith Urban.

Keith Urban released "Parallel Line" every bit a single on January 18, 2018.
John Shearer/Getty Images

"I got sent it and loved it. It felt like home right away. It'south just such a cute, archetype melody," the state vocalist spoke almost the Sheeran-penned song in a backside-the-scenes video.

"People always think, yous know, 'You're a guitar player so you're supposed to shred some sort of solo,' but I'm always in service of the song, and the electric guitar line, which Ed came up with, is a actually slap-up lick. And at that place'due south times you just don't have to reinvent the wheel. If it'southward correct, it'due south correct," he added.

"Love Polish Down" was the first-always Sheeran-penned single Olly Murs released.

Olly Murs released "Love Shine Downwards" equally a single on November 23, 2010.
Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

"Love Smooth Downwards " is the 10th rail on Murs' self-titled debut album.

Sheeran cowrote "Make Me Better" with musical veteran James Blunt.

James Edgeless released his 5th studio album "The Afterlove" on March 24, 2017.
Robb Cohen/Invision/AP

"He'due south genuinely down to globe and a super nice dude. 'Make Me Improve' is a beautiful song and I wouldn't have got about to writing it without his help, then I'm very grateful, and the people the song is almost are very grateful too," Edgeless told an Australian news site in 2017.

Sheeran also helped write the track, "Fourth dimension of Our Lives," which succeeds "Brand Me Ameliorate" on Blunt's fifth studio album, "The Afterlove."

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