“I got famous and had 10,000 contacts”: Ed Sheeran Was So Sick of One Thing About His Fame That He Made the Boldest Decision 9 Years Ago
As we are living in the digital era, it is hard to imagine life without using smartphones. However, one of the biggest pop stars globally has been doing the opposite for almost a decade, and that is Ed Sheeran. The singer and songwriter, who rose to fame with songs such as The A Team and Thinking Out Loud, has written many chartbuster songs. However, he was struggling with an unforeseen negative aspect of stardom.
The rise of Ed Sheeran from an unknown musician from a small town to a worldwide celebrity is nothing less than a fairy tale. The honesty and authenticity in his music transcend into his daily life as well, which makes his fans more connected to him. That’s why his no-phone policy hits differently than other celebs who tend to leave social media from time to time.
Why Does Ed Sheeran Don’t Use His Phone?
In 2015, at the peak of his X (Multiply) world tour, Sheeran made a decision to get rid of his phone, which drastically changed his day-to-day life. His decision might seem different from other celebs, who often prefer to keep posting about their routine lives and promoting their projects. In the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast, Sheeran shared that he found himself overwhelmed and distracted by his phone,
Sheeran reveals that he has had the same phone number since he was 15 years old. It became a reason for him to get flooded with calls and texts once he got popular, and giving replies to each one of them became tough.
I had the same number from like age 15, and I got famous and had 10,000 contacts in my phone that would just… people would just text the whole time. And I was just constantly in touch with a lot of people. I feel like with phones, everyone expects you to reply, and if you don’t reply, it’s rude.
Ed Sheeran on His $200M Fortune: “I have enough to be comfortable, and the rest goes to help people”
He recalled a time when he was having trouble while having dinner with his father. During the dinner, the continuous ringing of his phone would distract him as he kept on thinking who was texting him and he would later lose the moment while replying to the texts.
Earlier in The Collector’s Edition podcast, Sheeran revealed the mental health struggles he faced because of cell phones, as he felt answering text messages would stress him out,
I got really, really overwhelmed and sad with the phone. I just spent my whole time in a very low place.
Ed Sheeran has adopted email as his way of communication, which gives him enough time and space to interact with people he cares about by reducing his stress.
It was, like, a veil just lifted… I didn’t so much cut contact with people, I just limit contact with people. Now, I have an email… and every few days, I’ll sit down and open up my laptop and I’ll answer 10 emails at a time… And then I’ll go back to living life and I don’t feel overwhelmed by it.
Sheeran believes the boredom that he feels from not using cellphones is necessary for his creativity in the songwriting process, as it helps him come up with new ideas when he doesn’t feel distracted.
Ed Sheeran’s Candid Take On the Truth About Artist Success
Apart from Sheeran’s liberation from phone addiction, his opinions about the music industry are just as liberating. In the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast, he shared his opinions about other celebs’ claims that they do not care for success.
I don’t believe any artist that says they don’t, otherwise you wouldn’t release music because you’d be like, ‘If I don’t care what people think, then why would I even put it out?’ You’d just sort of make the music and be like, ‘Well that’s made me feel good.’ All artists, we want to be loved. That’s why we are on stage.
His arguments seem logical, as he believes no artist would like to release their songs if they didn’t care about people’s views and opinions. Their products and art are for viewers and audiences, and the appreciation or criticism they receive for their products is their primary reward.
I don’t really subscribe to this whole, like, not caring thing… That’s all a kind of ruse… Of course it sounds cool to say but every artist wants people to like their music… It really p*sses me off when people are like, ‘Oh I don’t care how it does’. I’m like, ‘F*cking shut up! You do! Everyone does.’ […] Anyone in the pop game definitely cares.
His openness and honesty are particularly admirable, especially in the current formal and rigid nature of the entertainment business. This is evident from Sheeran gets annoyed when artists pretend that they do not care how their music is performed.
