Ed Sheeran Reveals Jay Z Denied a Verse on His Massive Hit “Shape of You”

It’s not every day you’ll see Jay Z hop on a track, but even when it’s the global pop star Ed Sheeran?!

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the UK singer-songwriter revealed Jay Z actually turned down the opportunity to deliver a verse on his viral smash hit “Shape of You.” The record was released back in 2017, and the song’s official music video currently boasts a whopping 5.9 billion views on Youtube and counting.

Ed Sheeran explains, “We were in touch. I sent him the song, and he said, ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse.’ He was probably right. He’s got a very, very good ear. He usually gets things right. It was a very natural, respectful pass.”

Hov may have known what he was talking about, as the original song ended up doing astronomical numbers. “Shape of You” went Diamond in America and stayed afloat at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 12 weeks that year. The song even won Sheeran a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Later, Sheeran ended up doing remixes for the song, recruiting fellow UK native Stormzy for the official remix and Zion and Lennox for the Latin remix.

Music-wise, Ed Sheeran is currently gearing up to release his highly-anticipated album titled Subtract, which he performed in full for the first time at Hammersmith Apollo a few days prior.