If you’ve been to a wedding reception before, there’s a strong chance that the newly married couple chose an Ed Sheeran tune for their first dance song: In The Knot 2020 Real Weddings Study, which surveyed over 7,600 couples, Sheeran’s “Perfect” was the most popular first dance song. In fact, 2020 was the fourth year in a row “Perfect” topped the annual survey. So, picking a Sheeran song could be considered played out, and Sheeran himself actually agrees.
That topic came up on Sheeran’s appearance on Radio 1 Breakfast With Greg James this morning, during the “Unpopular Opinion” segment. The way the segment worked is that listeners presented what they believe are unpopular opinions, then James and Sheeran discussed them and decided if they agree. The first listener declared, “You’re not original if your first dance at your wedding is an Ed Sheeran song.”
After a playful protest from the host, Sheeran jumped in and agreed with the listener, but with a caveat. He said, “Well, I… you know what? I would say it’s become quite a done thing to have one of my tunes as a first dance, but It’s not always the ones you expect. It’s not always ‘Thinking Out Loud’ or ‘Perfect.’ I had someone say ‘Happier’ once, which is a break-up tune. I was like, ‘That’s a bit…’”
After the listener insisted they were actually a fan of Sheeran but reiterated their point, the singer concluded, “I do agree with you: It can be seen as, like, the done thing, but I would say if someone has picked it, it’s not because they can’t think of what to pick. It’s usually because it marks some sort of special time in their life with their partner.”
Sheeran and James went on to discuss some non-Sheeran-related opinions from there and it was good fun, so check out the full segment above.
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.