Ed Sheeran almost gave Shape of You to another artist

He'll be glad he didn't.

Ed Sheeran has had another incredibly successful year, dominating the charts with his latest album, '➗'. The world is in love with the singer's acoustic sounds and versatile voice, as well as his charm. And it's hard to say Sheeran doesn't deserve his success; he's incredibly hard-working, he writes hundreds of songs in the album-writing process and discards the ones he doesn't like. Or gives them to other artists. It's no secret that he's ghost/co-written songs with the likes of Justin Bieber and One Direction in the past, and he almost gave away his biggest hit of the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpMNJbt3QDE In a video for the New York Times, he and his producers explain how Shape of You was made, step by step, offering fans and listeners a glimpse behind the scenes at the production process, Ed Sheeran reveals that he would have given the biggest pop song of the year to another artist, had the head of his record label not changed his mind. "I'm an acoustic artist first and foremost", Sheeran explained, and Shape of You has a more electronic sound. "This sounds like Rudimental should do it with Rihanna", he said. Now, I'm sure we'd all like to hear that version but we're glad he kept the song for himself, because it does suit him, hence the 13 consecutive weeks spent at number 1. It makes you wonder to what extent he would dominate the charts if he was more selfish with the songs he writes and gives away.