Greg WilliamsYou’d think having the number one album and the number one single in the U.S. and breaking sales records all over the world would give a guy a swelled head, but Ed Sheeran says he keeps his screwed on straight because he hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
Speaking to US Weekly, Ed says taking a year off to travel the world and then record his new album ÷ (Divide) really got him back in touch with what he calls his “life balance.” “I hadn’t really adjusted completely to my new lifestyle, so having a year off to balance it all out was quite important. I learned to prioritize,” he tells the magazine.
“I’ve got a strong group of mates and a wonderful girlfriend who I grew up with,” he explains. “I’ve got a house where I grew up. So I’ve kept my roots. It had all helped me to stay grounded.”
Ed’s “wonderful girlfriend,” Cherry Seaborn, was a friend of his back in school. “She’s great,” he tells US Weekly. In fact, she inspired the song “Perfect” on the new album.
“‘Perfect’ was the first song that I wrote for the album,” Ed says. It was inspired by a fun moment they shared on the Spanish island of Ibiza, listening to music and dancing barefoot. The song features super-romantic lyrics like, “I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know/She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I’ll share her home/I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets/To carry love, to carry children of our own.”
And what was Cherry’s reaction when she heard it? “She did really like it,” he says. Well, duh.
