Greg WilliamsEd Sheeran is arguably the biggest pop star in the world right now…but he may also be one of the most hated. While Ed realizes that a lot of people don’t like his music, he doesn’t really care, because he’s figured out that, as he puts it, “there’s nothing negative about being not liked.”
In a video interview with the New Zealand Herald, Ed points out that it wasn’t until he became famous that people started to actively hate him — online, that is — but he’s still not quite sure why they do.
“I’m quite a polarizing figure,” he tells the Herald. “Even though it’s quite odd, ’cause a lot of music journalists call my music very bland. But it’s so polarizing! If it was bland, then everyone would like it!”
He continues, “So, I feel like I make music that people either, like, really, really, really love or really, really, really hate, and thankfully there’s more on the love than there is in the hate, which is why I’ve kind of come not to care.”
As he points out, “I get to tour ’round the world…I get to make the music I want to make and play it to people that like it. And then I also get the opportunity to convert people. ‘Cause I have people who come to my gigs…boyfriends or husbands or dads, that might not be fans, [but] that might leave [as fans] afterwards.”
“It’s a pretty win/win situation,” Ed points out. “The people that don’t like my music, when I meet them, they’re always polite. I never get people starting fights with me, like ‘You’re s**t!’ It’s always, ‘Oh, I’m not a big fan but it’s nice to meet you.'”
So, Ed reasons, “So there’s nothing negative about being not liked.”
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