2017 was Ed Sheeran’s year. He was nominated for Grammys, he was MTV’s VMA Artist of the Year and his song “Shape of You” was the most streamed song on Spotify globally in 2017. Even though he is one of the biggest superstars at the moment, he procrastinates just like us. It turns out that our favorite redhead can have a short attention span when writing his music. We all have our own ways we deal with focusing on the task at hand, but Ed Sheeran’s is slightly unique.
According to PEOPLE, his songwriting partner, Johnny McDaid, said that he gave Sheeran a suitcase full of Legos and told him to get to work building something to help him focus. Speaking to the New York Times about getting Sheeran to concentrate on the song, McDaid said, “One of the things I did to try and keep him in the room when I would be working on a track, I’d have like a suitcase full of Legos I’d pull into the hotel room and say, ‘There you go. You build that.’”
While writing songs can occasionally be easy for talented artists like Sheeran, it must be hard to constantly come up with ideas to create a cohesive album. We all grew up playing with Legos, so it makes sense that something like that would help bring his mind back to a place of routine and relaxation to help him get his work done. He loves Legos so much that he even has a tattoo of one on his arm!
Once Sheeran got going with those Legos, it reportedly only took the writing duo 90 minutes to write “Shape of You,” or the catchiest song ever. It makes me think about what we all do in 90 minutes. Take a nap? Watch Netflix? We should all take note that we could be writing one of the most popular songs of the year the next time we have 90 minutes free.
Whether or not you love Legos like Sheeran, go give “Shape of You” another listen! It is 100 percent just as good as the first time you heard it.