2017 Hal David Starlight recipient Ed Sheeran plays with five of Belmont University's aspiring songwriters
Ed Sheeran, the 2017 recipient of the coveted SHOF Hal David Starlight Award, shared his journey from empty rooms to sold-out arenas, emphasizing authenticity, resilience and the courage to fail, last month at Nashville’s Belmont University. The intimate session was moderated by Belmont’s Songwriting co-chair Drew Ramsey and attended by 30 Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business songwriting students.
Sheeran disclosed the ideology that has guided and anchored his career, serves as his North Star and reminds him to take risks — “Dare to suck!” — which he learned from iconic songwriter/producer 2017 SHOF inductee Max Martin.
Sheeran emphasized quantity over perfectionism in his songwriting process, writing dozens of songs each week. His No. 1 song “Shape of You” was the fifth song he wrote that day. “Songs like ‘Perfect’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Shape of You’ needed many, many, many songs to get to that point,” he shared. “The other four [that day] weren’t good, but I realized those four had to get written and fall flat to get there.”
This approach to creativity extended beyond the writing room and studio. Sheeran described how playing open mic nights early in his career shaped his writing, as the brutal environment forced immediate improvement.
For the aspiring writers and artists in the room, Sheeran’s most emphatic advice centered on authenticity. He cautioned against chasing trends that feel unnatural, noting how fans can easily detect artificiality.
"As an artist, always have a rudder where you're like, 'This is me, and I'm not going here, and I'm not going there,'" he advised. "If you do something you don't truly believe in and it works, great. But if it doesn't work, you feel [terrible] because you compromised yourself."
As his career has evolved, Sheeran has expanded beyond performing — writing for artists like One Direction and Justin Bieber and establishing Gingerbread Man Records to support artists he believes in, including Foy Vance and Maisie Peters. "Eventually, the star fades for everyone, and people [fans] take a step back," he reflected. "Songwriting is the thing where the star never fades — you can always write songs.”
After rich conversation, Sheeran played a to-be-released song off of his upcoming album and then shared the stage with a group of Belmont’s aspiring songwriters followed by an impromptu jam of a rootsy version of “Shape of You” with members of Belmont’s Bluegrass Ensemble.
SHOF Board Member/Chairman, SHOF Nashville Committee Fletcher Foster and Belmont Songwriting Co-Chair James Elliott were also in attendance.