Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Started Out As A Favor To A Struggling Friend

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Nobody wants to like Ed Sheeran. He writes wimpy music on his own and does that coffeehouse rap-songs-on-acoustic-guitar shtick that deserved to die several decades ago. But the more stories that come out about him, the harder it is to dislike him.

Case-in-point: His mega-hit single/wedding first-dance phenomenon “Thinking Out Loud” came into existence because he wanted to help a friend pay their mortgage.

In an interview with The Mirror, Sheeran revealed that the biggest hit of his career started out as a favor to songwriter Amy Wadge.

“[Wadge] was going through financial troubles about a year ago. She 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, so she could get a little bit of money and pay the mortgage and bills and stuff. While she was there, we wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud.’ Now she never has to worry about money again.”

The song went on to be the most-streamed song in the history of Spotify and the first song to remain in the UK Top 40 for an entire year. Stateside, it hit the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Sheeran says Wadge is enjoying the success.

“She’s got a family and two kids and stuff and every time I speak to her, she’s going on holiday. It’s really nice to see. It wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t come down from Wales to see me.”

For more Sheeran, check out his gory stint on The Bastard Executioner.

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