Ed Sheeran's music is inspired by "big extremes" in his emotions.
The Azizam hitmaker sparked concern for his marriage to wife Cherry following the release of the deluxe edition of his album Play, on which tracks such as Regrets, War Games and Problems hinted at problems in their relationship and the strain of being away from his spouse and their two daughters while out on tour.
But Ed has insisted he is keen to be honest in his music and inspiration tends to strike when his feelings are heightened.
At a Spotify pop-up event at the weekend, The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column reports he said: “Sometimes people listen to records today and assume that what that song is, is their world 100 per cent at the time.
“It’s very much like heightened emotions. You never write a song on a ‘meh’ day.
“You always write songs like, ‘This is the most loving I’ve ever felt, this is the happiest I’ve ever felt, this is the angriest I’ve ever felt’.
“They’re all like big extremities and that’s what inspires the song.
“And then that’s where the song exists and that’s why people connect to the song as people have these big feelings.
“I think the only time the songs will ever be created, for me at least, are in those moments of big extremes.”
And Ed - who has daughters Lyra, five, and Jupiter, three, with Cherry - insisted his wife doesn't get too upset by the negative songs because there are others in which he sings her praises and declares his happiness.
He added: “I think Cherry knows that she has songs like Heaven and Perfect.
“It’s good to be honest, and she knows that I am writing songs like Don’t Look Down and Wargames.”
The 34-year-old singer recently admitted he is considering building his own venue to stage a residency in so he doesn't have to tour and be away from his family very much.
He said on the Awards Chatter podcast: “I wrote down a list the other day of things that matter to me and one is my family, one is songwriting, one is doing shows.
“If I can get to a point where I’m playing shows, writing songs and hanging out with my family, then you can cut the noise out around that, however that noise might present itself.
“I looked into the idea of building a venue in my hometown and doing a residency there.
“That then cuts out the travel and being away from my family.
“I’ve built a studio nearby that I can use...
“I’ve got one more big tour in me before settling down for school years. That’s the model I think I want to adopt.
“I do feel like my life gets quite cluttered. I commit to lots of things and I end up doing quite a lot.”
Ed's mammoth Mathematics Tour spanned 188 shows across five continents and wrapped in September.
He's currently on The Loop Tour, which kicked off on December 1, 2025, in Paris, France, and is set to conclude in Tampa, United States, on November 7, 2026.
