Ed Sheeran doesn't believe 'Love Yourself' would have been "as big" if he hadn't given it to Justin Bieber.
Ed Sheeran wrote Justin Bieber's Love Yourself
The 'Bad Habits' hitmaker wrote the Canadian singer's 2015 chart-topping hit and though he knows if he performs it himself it will always get a good reaction, he's still happy he gave away the track as he doesn't think it would have been as successful if it hadn't been a pivotal part of Justin's comeback.
Speaking to Jack Antonoff about favourite songs they've written for other artists, he said backstage at Florida's Audacy Beach Festival: "I feel like the one that is the slam dunk, whenever I'm at a gig, to play someone else's song that I had written would be Justin Bieber’s 'Love Yourself' because it was so massive for him.
"I think it's his biggest song... anywhere in the world, if I picked up a guitar and played that, they'd be like 'Oh my god, you wrote that!'.
"People always say, ‘Why didn’t you keep it?’ And to be honest, he was on such a roll at that point that I think it wouldn’t have been as big if I’d sung it.
"He had his whole period of his life that was a bit...you know what I mean…. And America loves a comeback story."
Meanwhile, Ed is giving some thought to his touring schedule too and recently revealed his upcoming 'Mathematics' live run - which kicks off in Dublin in April 2022 - will last five years before he looks to be more selective.
Revealing his wife Cherry Seaborn and their daughter Lyra - who they welcomed into the world in August 2020 - will be joining him, he said: "I'm bringing my family with me. My daughter is one and when she starts school I'm going to want to be settled and I'm not going to want to go on a five-year world tour.
"So now is the time to do it. I'm going to do it until she turns five or six and then stop. Then I think I'll tour in school holidays."
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