15 Songs You Didn’t Realise Ed Sheeran Actually Wrote

10 May 2023, 17:10

Ed Sheeran has songwriting credits on some huge tracks outside of his own discography.

We all know that Ed Sheeran is one of the most talented singer-songwriters around - but did you know he’s actually written tracks for an array of artists over the years outside of his own music?

From One Direction and Camila Cabello to Justin Bieber and Little Mix, Ed has racked up quite an impressive roster of talent that he has penned tunes for.

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There are even some artists that the ‘Bad Habits’ hitmaker has written songs for that you may not have known about, including Eminem, The Weeknd and BTS.

A man of many talents!

Here are 15 tracks that you didn’t know were co-written by Ed…

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One Direction - ‘Little Things’

Now that you know this, you probably can’t un-hear it. Ed worked with 1D on their hit heartfelt tune ‘Little Things’ which was released in 2012 and appeared on their second album, ‘Take Me Home’.

This isn’t the only 1D song Ed has worked on either, as he also wrote ’18’, which was released in 2014 and even co-wrote Liam Payne’s 2017 solo hit ‘Strip That Down’ alongside Liam and Quavo.

One Direction - Little Things

Justin Bieber - ‘Love Yourself’

One of the biggest hits on the list by far is ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Bieber, which was co-written by the Canadian pop star and Ed and dropped in 2015 as part of JB’s ‘Purpose’ album.

Ed almost kept the track for his album, ‘÷’, but it ended up going to Biebs.

Justin Bieber - Love Yourself (PURPOSE : The Movement)

Camila Cabello - ‘Bam Bam’

Not only does Ed feature on this track, but he actually co-wrote the post-breakup anthem with Camila Cabello.

It also reportedly only took them a day to write and record it!

Camila Cabello - Bam Bam (Official Music Video) ft. Ed Sheeran

Anne-Marie - ‘2002’

Ed and Anne-Marie go way back and aren’t only good friends but also great collaborators.

The father-of-two co-wrote the 2018 pop hit ‘2002’ as well as her track release, ‘Beautiful’, which appears on Anne-Marie’s second album ‘Therapy’.

Anne-Marie - 2002 [Official Video]

BTS - ‘Make It Right’

Making his way around the globe, Ed joined K-Pop stars BTS to work on their 2019 song 'Make It Better', which appeared on their EP 'Map of the Soul: Persona'.

BTS - Make It Right (방탄소년단 - Make It Right) [Color Coded Lyrics/Han/Rom/Eng/가사]

Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid - 'Eastside'

As it turns out, one of the biggest pop tunes to have been released in 2018 - ‘Eastside’ - by Halsey, Khalid and Benny Blanco, was co-written by Ed.

benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid – Eastside (official video)

Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed

Not only did Ed join the track to lend his vocals, but he lent his songwriting skills to Taylor Swift’s hit ‘Everything Has Changed’ in 2013.

He later worked with his good friend and superstar Taylor a second time on 'End Game' for her sixth album 'Reputation', which dropped in 2017.

Taylor Swift - Everything Has Changed ft. Ed Sheeran

Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj - 'Woman Like Me'

Before ‘Woman Like Me’ was given to Little Mix and Nicki Minaj in 2018, it was actually co-written by Ed and Jess Glynne and was initially intended for Jess’ own album titled ‘Always In Between’, but it didn’t fit the rest of her tracklist.

Little Mix - Woman Like Me (Official Video) ft. Nicki Minaj

Zara Larsson - 'Don't Let Me Be Yours'

‘Don’t Let Me By Yours’ by Zara Larsson was another Ed co-writing special which dropped in 2017 as part of the songstress’ second album 'So Good'.

Zara Larsson - Don't Let Me Be Yours (Official Video)

Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber and Mø - 'Cold Water'

Another Justin Bieber collaboration on the list is ‘Cold Water’ with Major Lazer and Mø, which saw Ed lend a hand with songwriting credits.

Major Lazer - Cold Water (feat. Justin Bieber & MØ) (Official Dance Video)

The Weeknd feat. Ed Sheeran - ‘Dark Times’

‘Dark Times’ by The Weeknd is another track co-written by Ed, which dropped in 2018 for the Canadian star’s second album, 'Beauty Behind the Madness' and also saw the British superstar lend his vocals.

The Weeknd ft Ed Sheeran - Dark Times

Rita Ora - ‘Your Song’

Ed lent a hand to Rita Ora as she made her music comeback in 2017 with ‘Your Song’, which was also the lead single from her second album, 'Phoenix, released the following year.

Rita Ora - Your Song [Official Video]

Jess Glynne - ‘Thursday’

Not a stranger to working with Jess Glynne, Mr. Sheeran helped Jess write ‘Thursday’ which came out in 2018.

Jess Glynne - Thursday (Official Video)

Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran - ‘River’

‘River’ by US rapper Eminem, was also interestingly co-written by Ed himself, and the song served as part of Eminem’s 2017 album 'Revival'.

Eminem - River ft. Ed Sheeran

Lewis Capaldi - ‘Pointless’

Two legendary songwriters joined forces for the making of the very emotional track, ‘Pointless’.

Ed co-wrote Lewis Capaldi’s new hit, which is part of the Scottish star’s second album ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’.

Lewis Capaldi - Pointless (Official Video)

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