Ed Sheeran took the hot seat.
The “Shape Of You” singer-songwriter appeared on Hot Ones, “the show with hot questions and even hotter wings,” host Sean Evans dubs it.
The 25-minute interview allows fans to listen as Sheeran:
“…takes on the wings of death and chats about everything from salvaging Eric Clapton's guitar from a fire, to collaborating with Eminem and 50 Cent, to the time he brought Courteney Cox to Tesco. Plus, a very special surprise from Benny Blanco!”
Evans dove into the interview by asking the award-winning artist how he opted to select his latest single, “Bad Habits,” from his upcoming album.
Here’s why Sheeran released “Bad Habits” first:
“I think for me it’s — every time I’ve released a first single, the way that it works best is to do…a ground I’ve never covered before.
“I feel like as a fan of musicians, any time that anyone’s — not reinvented themselves, but — come out with something that you’re like, ‘Oh My God, I didn’t expect them to do that,’ that’s usually where I pick the first single.”
Sheeran acknowledged that the decision-making method can be a “Catch 22” because his core fan base might worry that he’s changing too much (until they hear the rest of the album, of course).
However, it worked for “Sing” and “Shape Of You,” he noted.
Sheeran also revealed that he nearly released a different single first.
Here’s why he swapped it for “Bad Habits”:
“This time, I had a first single picked, (it was) kind of like lo-fi, depressing, sad. And I’d made this like really upbeat, dance tune.
"And then (Prime Minister) Boris Johnson announced that England was opening up on the 21st of June, and my single was going to come out on the 25th of June. So, I sort of switched them around because I was like, 'What do I want to hear on the radio when the world opens up…?'”
Watch the full interview here: