Ed Sheeran doesn’t believe he has what it takes to headline a Super Bowl Halftime Show.
In a recent appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the pop star was asked whether he’d ever received an invitation to perform at the Super Bowl. Sheeran responded by saying he’s only been asked to play with another artist, but he’s fine with that.
“There was a conversation about 10 years ago to go on with someone, and I think that’d be the only way that I would do it at the moment,” he said. “I don’t think English artists are like — I mean, there are some that have the pizzazz of Super Bowl, fireworks, dancers, blah, blah, blah — but me going up there and being like, here’s ‘The A Team’ and here’s ‘Perfect,’ no one wants to see that.”
He continued, “Whereas if there was a show with a lot of that, say like if it was Beyoncé’s show and she had all the bells and whistles and then there was a moment where we sung “Perfect” together, that makes sense to me. But me, I don’t know. I can’t picture myself doing it. Can you picture me doing it?”
Sheeran added that he thinks he could “nail one song,” but the nature of his performances doesn’t work for a truncated 15-minute set. “The catalog that I have doesn’t really lend itself,” he said. “Have you seen me play as well? Because it’s with a loop pedal and you have to build the things. Doesn’t really lend itself to the Super Bowl. ‘Hey, hang on guys. I’ve just gotta set this up for two minutes.’”
Watch the full interview below. The segment begins around the 6-minute mark.
This isn’t the first time Sheeran has said his live show doesn’t fit with the spectacle of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. In 2023, the artist told Andy Cohen his performances don’t compare to those of previous headliners like Prince, Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Beyoncé.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sheeran shared the story of being caught naked in a hotel lobby when he was touring Europe, touched on his relationship with Taylor Swift, and teased that he will be rolling out new singles every few weeks in advance of his upcoming album.
Last Friday, Sheeran released the first of those singles, “Azizam.” He recently performed the track on The Tonight Show while busking in the NYC subway with host Jimmy Fallon.
Sheeran is set to begin touring the Middle East and Europe later this month. Grab your seats here.
