Ed Sheeran has begun to notice how he cleaves opinions of fans and non-fans alike. And he’s not exactly happy about it. His recent video for his Irish ditty “Galway Girl” was almost removed from his album, Divide, at the suggestion of his label. But Sheeran fought to keep it on.
“I’ve actually never felt this much hate in my life, but also I’ve never felt this much adoration,” he said in a recent interview with Q Magazine. “There’s two extremes. It’s actually quite a dangerous situation to be in because you’ve got no middle ground, which I haven’t had before. People either f***ing hate me and want me to die and never make music again or people think I’m the second coming.”
Of course, recording a song that nods to your traditional roots is surely going to garner controversy if not handled correctly. However, not even Sheeran expected the backlash he would receive after releasing it.
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“People do f***ing hate that song, so they would say I’m wrong [to feature it on my album], but the general consensus is yes, it works,” he said. “That song’s proper Marmite, which is quite good. I want people to have an opinion, even if their opinion hurts me. I get called beige a lot, but it can’t be beige if it’s splitting this much f***ing opinion.”
Still, Sheeran just doesn’t understand why he receives hate messages from those who have never met him or heard his music. “It’s weird,” he continues. “With every performer, you’re kind of doing it because you want people to like you. Musically, I understand I’m not everybody’s cup of tea but there are people who’ve never met me but have this rage about me as a human being. It’s quite daunting to have millions of people who want you to fail.”
What do you think? Watch the video for “Galway Girl” below: