(Exclusive) Ed Sheeran: India is my biggest market and I'd love to compose a song for Bollywood

Culminating his +–=÷× Asia tour with his upcoming concert on March 16 in Mumbai, singer Ed Sheeran is excited to be in India for the third time. In an exclusive interview with HT City, he says, “Every time I come back here, it feels more and more exciting. The metric that you would have measured success by back in 2014, I would have no idea that people liked my music here. It wasn't until coming here in 2015, that I realised for the first time, that people really like my music here. Whereas now, it's clear that India is my biggest market.”

With initial plans that included performing in other Indian cities as part of the final leg of his tour, the Perfect singer explains, “We were meant to play in Bengaluru and Delhi too this time, but it didn’t work out. So, I think we're going to come back and do these two cities next time. But I'm going out with (singer) Armaan Malik tonight and he's going to take me around the city, which I'm excited for. I haven't really explored Mumbai because I've only gone to the places where people usually go to.”

When asked if he follows Bollywood, he claims, “Yeah, I do follow Bollywood. I try and keep to do that since I've come here. The first time I came here, I met quite a lot of people from Bollywood so since then, I've tried to keep up to date to it. There was a Bollywood film I had watched called Street Dancer (2020). Also, usually, I watch most of the Bollywood films when I am travelling on the plane.”

For an ardent Ed Sheeran fan, the burning question is if the singer would be composing a song for a Bollywood film anytime soon. When asked about the same, the 33-year-old answers, “I would love to compose a song for Bollywood. I'm actually meeting people this week to talk about that. For me, it’s really exciting and it's an amazing part of your culture. It's so vibrant and fun. So I'd love to be as involved as anyone would want me to be involved.”

For international music artistes, travelling to India is incomplete without exploring the famous street food. Sharing the same feelings, Sheeran says, “I haven’t explored Indian street food as of yet. But that is the one thing that we're going to do this week. I've got a few friends who are Indian chefs who are going to tell me where to go.”

While Mumbaikars are getting ready to see him live in action on March 16, Sheeran is excited to be back in the country. He concludes, “It's the final show of the Asia leg of my tour and it's the biggest concert that I've ever played in India, and I'm just really excited to be back. That's why I wanted to spend a week here. I've been flying back and forth. I have two young children, so I'm trying to spend as much time at home as possible. But I just knew that this would be the most fun place to be. So that's why I'm here for the whole week.”