Any pop music fan knows that Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, two of the biggest stars in the industry, share a close friendship. They’ve collaborated many times throughout the years and seem to hold an unbreakable bond with one another. But despite their singular stardom, their combined dominance may be more calculated than you might think. Here are eleven things that 100% prove Ed and Taylor have way more in common than what meets the eye. Like, suspiciously way more. Are they plotting to take over the entire music industry? Wake up, sheeple.
1. This vocal run that shows up on both “The A Team” and “seven”
Ed’s song “The A Team” was originally released in 2011 as a single for his album + (Plus) and remains one of his most popular songs. Near the end of the tune, Ed begins riffing some heartfelt vocal runs to complement the emotion. But in Taylor’s song “seven,” which came out nine years later in 2020, she emulates a very similar sounding vocal run. Take a listen…
2. Ed and Taylor both have songs titled “Afterglow”
While many artists have songs with this title, it seems oddly suspicious that Taylor and Ed would simultaneously be among them. Taylor’s 2019 album Lover features the passionate deep cut “Afterglow,” which quickly became a fan favorite. A little more than a year later, Ed released his first solo single in over three years, and what was it titled? That’s right. “Afterglow.” Curious.
3. Ed and Taylor both have songs titled “The Man”
Although the subject matter discussed on their respective songs varies greatly, Ed and Taylor have also both released tunes named “The Man.” Ed’s song came out in 2014 on his magnum opus × (Multiply) and details his personal struggles in a relationship due to his celebrity status and touring lifestyle. Taylor’s song was unleashed as a single in 2019 for her full-length Lover and explores the double standards between men and women in the music industry. But isn’t it a bit odd that they have both released songs called “The Man”? We think so.
4. Ed has a song titled “One” and Taylor has a song titled “the 1”
Okay, so these titles aren’t as strikingly similar as the past two, but still. “One” served as the opening track on Ed Sheeran’s 2014 record × (Multiply), and “the 1” was also included as the opening track on Taylor Swift’s 2020 album folklore. A little sus…
5. Taylor references “Shape of You” by Ed on her song “Dress”
Obviously, Ed Sheeran didn’t invent the phrase “shape of you,” but it is the title of his biggest hit and one of the most popular songs of the 2010s. Released in January of 2017, “Shape of You” immediately dominated radio rotations and Spotify playlists to promote his next record ÷ (Divide). But later that same year, Taylor Swift released her album reputation, a noticeable shift for her public image and a turning point in her career. “Dress,” a sultry hidden gem on the record, presents the lyric “There is an indentation in the shape of you.” But this line doesn’t appear just once. It shows up in the opening verse of the song and the closing tag of the song.
6. Taylor references “Shape of You” by Ed again on the song “Renegade”
But wait, there’s more. Taylor uses the phrase yet again in the song “Renegade,” a collaboration with Big Red Machine (the superduo of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner) in 2021, four years after “Dress” and “Shape of You.” “The shape of you was jagged and weak,” she sings, and just like in “Dress,” the line is included in the opening verse of the tune. Interesting…
7. Ed was an ambassador for the streetwear brand HOAX for many years and Taylor has a song titled “hoax”
Ed was a big fan of the UK skate and streetwear clothing company HOAX for quite some time before becoming an official brand ambassador in 2017. He was very invested in repping the local brand from his home county in the UK and almost exclusively wore HOAX throughout the ÷ (Divide) era during public appearances. Lo and behold, in 2020, Taylor drops a song titled “hoax” as the standard edition album closer on folklore. Coincidence? We think not.
8. Justin Vernon & Bon Iver
Taking a look at × (Multiply), Ed Sheeran’s 2014 long-player, he references Bon Iver twice. First on the track “Nina” where he sings, “Under the covers where we used to lay / And ‘re:Stacks’ is what the speakers played,” and later on the tune “The Man” with the line “Recently, I tend to zone out up in my headphones to ‘Holocene.'” But Ed has never released a collaboration of some sort with Bon Iver. Taylor actually beat him to it. On her 2020 sister albums folklore and evermore, Taylor worked extensively with frontman Justin Vernon and featured Bon Iver on two songs, one from each full-length, “exile” and “evermore.” Justin also contributed backing vocals and songwriting on a number of tracks. In 2021, the musicians recrudesced with the tunes “Renegade,” a single, and “Birch” for the Big Red Machine album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? But we’re asking a different question: When will Ed Sheeran and Bon Iver finally collab?
9. Aaron Dessner & The National
Another person who artists are chomping at the bit to get a slice of. Like with Justin Vernon, Taylor worked largely with Aaron Dessner on folklore and evermore, and The National was featured on the latter album’s song “coney island.” Aaron and Taylor also completed some of the bonus tracks on her latest chart-topper Midnights. Of course, Aaron is also part of Big Red Machine. In 2021, Ed Sheeran finally took the opportunity to work with Aaron for his upcoming album – (Subtract). Aaron co-wrote ten out of eighteen tracks and has instrumental performer credits on many more.
On March 2, 2023, Ed took to Instagram to write in a caption: “So in 2021, I got a message from @taylorswift to link me up with @aarondessner. She thought he and I would make something great together. I have to be honest, I was a bit reticent to work with him that soon after folklore and evermore because I felt that was Taylor’s thing and they had both been done so perfectly. But we met for dinner, chatted about life and music, and he promised to send me some instrumentals for me to write over whenever inspiration hit. As soon as I got them, I loved the whole overall vibe of it and knew that one day I would write to them. … It’s just been the most incredible process, and an album I’m so bloody proud of. Thanks to Aaron and Jon for the insane amount of hard work and dedication you put into this project, and bringing out a side of me I had put on mute for so long. And of course, thanks to Swizzle, as always, you rock x”
Aaron posted on Instagram that same day with the caption: “I was introduced to @teddysphotos through @taylorswift when I helped produce their song “Run” for Taylor’s Version of Red last year. … Some time later [Ed and I] met up in New York City for dinner and talked at length about music and life. It felt so relaxed and as if we already knew each other. … I couldn’t be more proud of this record and the vulnerability and honesty Ed showed in making these songs with me. … Thanks so much to Ed for trusting me to help him on his journey as an artist.”
And would you look at that. Taylor will appear on the song “The Alcott” for The National’s new album The First Two Pages of Frankenstein, due in late April. Strange…
10. The amount of collabs between the two of them (and the depth they go into)
“Everything Has Changed” was the first time Ed and Taylor collaborated on a tune, released in 2012 on Taylor’s acclaimed album Red. Ed then featured on Taylor’s track “End Game” in 2017 for reputation, and Taylor hopped on a re-released version of Ed’s song “The Joker and the Queen” in 2021 for = (Equals). That same year, Taylor blessed fans with an unreleased bonus track from the vault for Red (Taylor’s Version) titled “Run,” which of course featured Ed. Ed’s verse on “End Game” contains a number of references to his own song lyrics, and the single artwork for “The Joker and the Queen” displays a queen-of-hearts with heavy resemblance to Taylor. Make no mistake, these are highly intentional choices.
11. The first verse of Ed’s song “Tides”
“Tides” is the opening song from Ed Sheeran’s 2021 record = (Equals), and how does he start it off? That’s right, referencing his collaboration with Taylor Swift. “I have grown up, I am a father now / Everything has changed, but I am still the same somehow.” And he had to have known he would be re-recording the song with her that same year! How devious.
There you have it, folks. Cold, hard evidence that Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift have colluded much more than we could have imagined to take over the music industry.
… Although all the “evidence” we’ve laid out here is true and factual, we are of course playing things up for April Fools. Hope you enjoyed!
