The British singer revealed that he happened to think of the Barbadian songstress while writing the song before he decided to record it himself.
- Jan 7, 2017
AceShowbiz - Ed Sheeran officially returned to the music scene as he released two brand new tracks, "Castle on the Hill and "Shape of You", on Friday morning, December 6. He dropped by BBC Radio 1 on the same day to promote his new singles before revealing that one of the songs was actually meant for Barbadian songstress Rihanna.
Telling Radio 1's Scott Mills, Sheeran revealed that he happened to think of Rihanna while writing "Shape of You". "['Shape of You'] is actually a really random one because I went in to write songs for other people with a guy called Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid, and we were writing this song and I was like 'this would really work for Rihanna,' " he explained. "But then I started singing lyrics like putting 'Van The Man on the jukebox' and I was like well, 'She's not really going to sing that, is she?' And then we sort of decided halfway through that we were just going to make it for me."
The British singer also revealed that he couldn't remember the words to his "x" smash hit "Don't". "It's the first radio interview I've done in two years," said Ed. "I was just saying I've forgotten how to do it. 'Don't' came on and I can't remember the words. I've re-learned everything. I've spent a day re-learning everything."
During his visit, Sheeran also performed an acoustic rendition of "Castle on the Hill". He said, " 'Castle on the Hill' is a love song for Suffolk because I don't think anyone has ever done that." He added, "I've shot the music video actually in Suffolk and the cast of it are people from my high school. The main guy who looks just like me is weirdly from my sixth form."
Many fans and fellow musicians are excited to get the first taste of Sheeran's new music. Taylor Swift and One Direction's Niall Horan are among those who are delighted with the singer's comeback. Swift took to Instagram to post a screenshot of her listening to "Shape of You" along with a caption that read, "OH MY GOD OKAY ITS HAPPENING EVERYBODY STAY CALM." Meanwhile, Horan tweeted, " 'Castle on the hill' is my kind of song.. Reminds me of home."
